Height 5.2 cm, mouth diameter 5.2 cm
Many of the designs of Qianzan ware are based on the theme of plum blossoms. It can be said that plum blossoms were one of Qianzan’s most favorite subjects. In particular, many of the plum blossoms are depicted with the tips of the sprouting branches extending out like spears, or yari-bai.
This incense container has a zigzag hand-shaped shape, and the back of the lid has a simple knob in the shape of a mountain shape. The body is made of Shigaraki-style clay, painted with a spear-and-plum motif in iron mixed with gosu and white mud, and the outer surface, except for the bottom, is lightly covered with a feldspar glaze.
The interior surfaces of the lid and body are covered with a transparent glaze over white slip, and the joint is gouged. The rounded bottom is inscribed “Qianzan” in iron pigments. An incense container similar to this one is in the collection of the Fujita Museum of Art, and it is listed in the “Katamono Kogai Banzuke” (list of incense containers in the Ansei era), making it an early and highly valued piece among Qianzan wares. It was once in the collection of Matsudaira Fumai, and was housed in a Shunkei lacquer-work inner box with two inscriptions of “Kenzan” written by Fumai on the front of the lid of the inner box.
