Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Kōgō, or incense box, made from a Venus shelloblique

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Kōgō, or incense box, made from a Venus shell

on display

Details

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Associated place

Asia › Japan (place of creation)

Date

1st half of the 19th century

Material and technique

Venus shell with oki-hirame lacquer; interior with fundame lacquer decoration in gold

Dimensions

with lid 2.6 cm (height)
without lid 1.5 cm (height)
8 cm (diameter)

Material index

organic › vegetal › resin › lacquer,

organic › animal › shell › venus shell

Technique index

covered › coated › varnished › lacquered

Object type index

container › incense-container › incense-box,

miscellaneous equipment › lid,

container › box › incense-box,

religious/ritual equipment › incense equipment › incense-container › incense-box

No. of items

2

Credit line

Presented by Sir Herbert Ingram, 1956.

Accession no.

EA1956.1801

Glossary (4)

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fundame, gō, hirame, lacquer

fundame

Very fine gold powder densely sprinkled onto wet lacquer, giving a smooth, matt surface.
gō

Art name
hirame

irregularly shaped flakes of gold or silver made by flattening metal filings and scattered onto wet lacquer
lacquer

Chinese and Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the lacquer tree, which is indigenous to Eastern China. It is applied to wood as a varnish or for decorative effect. In India and the Middle East, lacquer is made from the deposit of the lac insect.

Location

- Second floor | Room 36 | Japan

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.