The Chinese consider the tree peony “the king of flowers” and regard this showy flower as a symbol of good fortune, high honor and the spring season. Legendary Chinese lions figure prominently in Buddhist art. Lions and peonies often appear together in a motif associated with a noh play called The Stone Bridge, which deals with a pilgrimage to the Buddhist site of T’ien-t’ai Mountain in southeastern China. Although there are only two figures represented in the bamboo grove decorating this tetsubin, they represent the symbolic motif known as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. They were Chinese men who lived in the 3rd century and who were celebrated for their devotion to literature and music and the pursuit of these arts in the idealized setting of a bamboo forest. In Japan, the Seven Sages have been used as a symbol of enlightened and benevolent governance by cultured gentlemen. (See “Symbols of Japan” by Merrily Baird.)

Fine ornamental tetsubin of this type were preferred by the upper classes for the sencha style tea ceremony. A common characteristic of sencha kettles was that one side more heavily decorated than the other. In the sencha tea ceremony a tetsubin, held by the host in his right hand, is looked at by the guest with the spout pointing to the right. This is the side of the tetsubin which is usually more ornately decorated in order to enable the guest to admire the kettle’s “best” side. Ornamental tetsubin like this one are wonderful examples of Japanese ironwork which are very much sought after by collectors today.