A vintage tea ceremony incense box, or kogo, in the sshape of a dragon, one of the twelve lucky animals of the Japanese zodiac. It is believed that dragons represent power, wealth, success and prosperity.
Circa 1980s.
The dragon kogo is hagi ware (hagi yaki) and is a lovely shade of whitish-pink. It has a glossy wet shine and a crazed finish to the glaze, characteristic of hagi yaki.
The powerful looking dragon sits with it’s body tightly entwined in a circular shape. There is fine detail to the dragon’s facial expression and the scales on it’s body. This kogo is quite a large piece.
The incense box is signed on the bottom by the artist, Kaneda Sanzaemon (1921-). It comes in it’s original wooden storage box which is also signed by the artist.
The box measures around 8 cm (3.25”) x 9 cm (3.5”) x 9 cm (3.5”) and the kogo measures around 7 cm (2.7”) x 7 cm (2.7”) x 6 cm (2.5”).
Kogo are beautiful little miniatures representing many aspects of traditional Japanese life, customs and seasonal events and as such make lovely, meaningful collection pieces.
- weighs 280 gm.
