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Ten-Round Incense Game
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A popular pastime in the Edo period was a game in which a group of players passed around incense and guessed its name or scent. Small pieces of incense would be placed on thin mica plates and heated over hot ash, releasing their aroma for the players to smell. Players then cast their guesses with playing pieces. The game master kept score with the writing set. This game is handsomely decorated with images of deer in an autumn setting.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineTen-Round Incense Game (秋草に鹿文蒔絵十種香箱), 1700s–mid-1800s. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868). Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e) and mother-of-pearl inlay, metal fittings; overall: 23 x 25.4 x 16.6 cm (9 1/16 x 10 x 6 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of George Trumbull Ladd, 1921.405
