14. Oribe fan-shaped incense container (kōgō)

14. Oribe fan-shaped incense container (kōgō) 

 

White clay, glazed in cream, green, and brown; bottom of container and the interior rims left unglazed. Weight: 58 g (2 oz). Top dimensions: from apex to center of arc (radius), 5 cm (2 in); widest distance across arc, 6.6 cm (2-5/8 in).  Height: overall, 3 cm (1-1/8 in); top, 1.7 cm (5/8 in); bottom, 1.3 cm (1/2 in).

Six triangular shapes have been scored into the clay at the apex to represent the ribs of the fan (visible in the photo). The upper left-hand corner of the fan has been dipped in green glaze; the green glaze was applied separately to the top and bottom parts of the container (see the second photo). At four different places on the container, five plum blossoms, three on the lid and two on the sides of the bottom piece, were drawn in brown glaze (probably an iron-rich slip) using a brush. The interiors of the two parts of the container were glazed, but the surfaces where the two parts meet were left unglazed, as was the bottom of the container. The bottom has three parallel grooves made with the edge of a spatula (see the last photo). The two parts fit together loosely.

This is modern piece, probably made in the early 1990s. Incense containers (Japanese: 香合 kōgō) are used to hold small pellets of rolled incense.

This was purchased in Japan and given to me in 1993.