CC0 · no rights reserved
Incense Burner
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This container's repeated, undulating, rounded sides evoke waves over which the articulated plovers sweep. The bronze cover (probably a later addition) mimics the design of a fishing weir. Overall, the container brings to mind the seashore. The earthy quality of the lacquered surface demonstrates the interaction between a man-made pattern (the plovers) and the somewhat unexpected surface of a natural material such as wood.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineIncense Burner, late 1300s. Japan, Nanbokuchō period (1336–92). Black lacquer on wood with decoration in maki-e; metal rims; bronze lid; overall: 7.7 x 10.8 cm (3 1/16 x 4 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1960.195.a
