A very rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke Seifu Meigetsu kogo (incense container box) modelled in the form of two pairs of wooden clappers, the sides decorated with pine branches in underglaze cobalt blue, the cover painted with an open fan and Chinese characters reading 'Clear Breeze, Bright Moon'
 
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for Japan
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), 17th century
 
Measurements
6.0 cm long; 4.0 cm wide; 2.5 cm high
 
Description
Modelled as a pair of sekigi (wooden musical clappers) laying side-by-side and staggered, the top of the cover painted on one side with four Chinese characters reading 'Cool breeze, Bright Moon' and on the other side with an open hand fan.
The sides painted with a stylized design variously referred to as either pine trees or drying nets.
This particular example is called 'Seifu Meigetsu' in ancient Japanese records.
 
Similarly-shaped clappers incense container was ranked second, west row, in the Katamono-Kogo Banzuke (incense container ranking list published in 1855 - see details below).
 
The “Katamono Kogo sumo banzuke” published in 1855 was a ranking list produced by tea ceremony Masters, merchants, and connoisseurs from Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kanazawa. This chart, which rated legendary Kogo (small lidded containers for incense used in tea ceremonies) was the result of a friendly competitive vote amongst connoisseurs. Many of the Kogo on the list were produced in China for export to Japan and are considered today to be amongst the greatest treasures of tea ceremony implements.
 
Ko-Sometsuke, meaning "Old Blue and White" is the term used to describe Chinese blue and white porcelain made for the Japanese market during the late Ming Dynasty. Ko-sometsuke wares were produced from the Wanli period (1573-1620) to the Chongzhen period (1628-1644), with the main period of production being the Tianqi period (1621-27). The objects produced were made specifically for the Japanese market, with the shapes and the designs being tailored to the Japanese taste. The shapes created were often expressly made for the Japanese Kaiseki (Tea Ceremony meal) and included mukozuke (small food dishes), kōro (incense burners), and kōgō (small incense containers).
 
Condition
In excellent original condition with no restoration. Areas of mushikui to the edge of the cover. Firing sparks from the kiln.
 
Storage
With formal tea ceremony storage, including a fine traditional Japanese silk shifuku cover, inscribed wooden storage box with rice-paper covering, outer furoshiki cloth wrap, ribbon, and wooden tablet label inscribed "Hyoshigi-kogo / Seifu Meigetsu" (Clapper Incense Container / Clear Wind, Bright Moon).