A superbly painted and extremely rare Ming Dynasty ko-sometsuke kogo (incense container box and cover) in the form of a byobu-bako (Japanese folding screen box) painted in underglaze cobalt blue with scenes depicting wild horses frolicking, the cover boldly painted a single ox
 
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Tianqi period (1621-1627)
Ko-sometsuke (Old Blue-and-White) made for the Japanese market
 
Measurements
8.0 cm high;  6.5 cm long; 4.0 cm wide
 
Description
A large Chinese porcelain blue and white ko-sometsuke incense container and cover in the form of a byōbu-bako 屏風箱 (Japanese folding screen box) very finely painted in rich tones of underglaze cobalt blue with a single ox on the top of the cover, a pair of wild horses beneath a cloudy sky on either long side, and auspicious entwined rings on the short sides. Also called "Ko-sometsuke Doran Kogo".
 
A similarly-shaped and decorated folding-screen box incense container was highly ranked in the Katamono-Kogo Banzuke (incense container ranking list published in 1855 - see details below). The folding screen box incense box is ranked 8th in the west 4th stage.
 
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.
 
With a traditional Japanese storage box, inner cloths and ribbon.
 
Condition
Elegant, old kintsugi (gold) repair to the cover. Ancient, smooth chip to the edge of inner lip on top of the base.
Expected minor glaze flakes (mushikui) at edges.