Sake Bottle with Three Figures, late 1700s. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Porcelain with overglaze enamel and gold decoration (Hizen ware, Arita type); diameter: 14.3 cm (5 5/8 in.); with cover: 27.2 cm (10 11/16 in.); without cover: 24.2 cm (9 1/2 in.). The bottle features three elegantly drawn figures: a beautiful woman, a young man, and a priest. The artist used a fine-haired brush to draw these figures in colored enamel onto the porcelain bottle, which had already been given a clear glaze. A final firing fused the enamel to the form. The name derives from the port of Imari from where Japanese porcelains were shipped to other cities in Japan, China, and Europe.