15. Oribe rectangular incense container (kōgō)

15. Oribe rectangular incense container (kōgō) 

Coarse, light-gray clay, glazed in gray, brown, and green; bottom of container and the interior rims of the two parts left unglazed. Weight: 90 g (3 oz). Dimensions: 5.4 x 4.4 cm (2-1/8 x 1-3/4 in). Height: overall, 2.5 cm (15/16 in); top, 1.3 cm (1/2 in), bottom, 1.2 cm (7/16 in).

A rectangular area in the center of the base was carved away, to make a shallow depression. Semi-circular grooves were cut into the base of the container (2), the interior surface of the lid (3), and the bottom of the interior well (2). A raised rim was added around the well of the bottom part; it fits snugly into the part hollowed out on the underside of the lid.

One corner of the lid was dipped in green glaze. Decoration was applied using a brush and brown glaze to the top and sides. The interior well in the bottom section, the interior surface of the underside of the lid where it does not come into contact with the bottom part, and the two grooves on the bottom are covered with a transparent glaze. The surfaces where the two parts meet and most of the bottom were left unglazed. A raised rim was added around the well of the bottom part; it fits snugly into the part hollowed out on the underside of the lid.

Incense containers (Japanese: 香合 kōgō) are used to hold small pellets of rolled incense.

Purchased at the Japan Trade Center in San Francisco in the late 1980s or early 1990s.