Dimensions
Height: 6cm
Mouth diameter: 6.5cm
Body diameter: 7cm
Earlier, I mentioned the “Song Hu Lu” and “Nine-Cornered” incense boxes, but these are not among the molded incense boxes; they are rare pieces. The “Song Hu Lu” ranks this “Persimmon” incense box as its representative, placing it at the top of the ranking.
Modelled after the mangosteen fruit native to the southern regions, these incense containers come in various sizes: large, medium, and small. As ancient Thai ceramics, they are now prohibited from being taken out of the country.
It is unclear what purpose these containers originally served, but it is remarkable that tea masters of the Momoyama period had already acquired them and adopted them as precious incense containers for tea ceremonies.
Typically, they feature a brown base glaze with iron-glaze line drawings; tea masters particularly prize those with an egg-spot glaze effect.
By the late Edo period, imitations of Satsuma ware were so well-made they were nearly indistinguishable from the originals.
The ranking lists them as “shokoro kōgō” (food box incense container), placed in the next tier. These also show some variation in shape.
Somenuki Lychee
Chinese lychee fruit. Reference item.
