Lot Essay
A complete incense set with matching gold lacquer utensils was a part of every aristocratic lady's dowry. This incense set, for example, and the cosmetic set (lot 141) share the all-over design and might have been part of the same wedding trousseau. The crests are those of the Tokugawa family and either the Konoe or Takatsukasa family. There is a palanquin in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, with the same crests.
In the incense game, a variety of incenses is burned in succession and the guests attempt to identify it. The parts of this incense set are contained in a large two-layered lacquer box. The top layer contains the writing box with which the host recorded the identification given by each guest. The lower level contains all of the remaining implements. There is a large placemat-like sheet (gold on one side, silver on the other) which the master of ceremonies places on the tatami mat and onto which he transfers the objects from the box. A large block for chopping fragrant incense fragments is stored in its own paper wrapper. (This block is heavily scarred from use). There is also a small knife for cutting chips of incense and a miniature chopping block.
There are two underglaze-blue porcelain incense burners with wood covers, both stored in brocade bags. The incense burners are prepared by burying a glowing charcoal in soft ash shaped to resemble Mount Fuji. Tools for shaping the ash stand in the silver holder. A silver spatula in the shape of a closed fan is used to shape the ash. The pair of silver chopsticks is used to place the coal, to make decorative lines in the ash, and to make an air hole reaching the charcoal. The feather is used to clean stray ash from the sides and top of the incense burner. Using the silver tweezers, a mica plate is placed on top of the mound of ash, covering the air hole. The incense fragments are handled with the special decorative incense chopsticks. An incense spoon is used to place a small incense wood chip on the center of the mica plate. Thus positioned, the incense is heated and gives off a fragrance. This set contains a small three-tiered box lined with metal for holding mica plates.
As the game began, each guest made use of a small box with wood tags. In this set there is a box containing ten little boxes each with twelve tags with a gold lacquer design of a plant on one side and the number 1, 2, 3 or the syllable u on the other. Each guest used a tag to identify the fragrance as the incense burner was passed around. The set has two hexagonal boxes with a slot in the top for gathering votes. There is also a thin silver pick, an answer-sheet holder, used to collect answers that are written onto small paper answer sheets.
The pieces of incense and the mica used for these rounds are set out on a miniature rectangular board with medallion designs. In this set there are four such boards, with three, six, ten and twelve chrysanthemum medallions respectively.
This set also contains one special feature, a small two-tiered box with fifty-two small seals, or stamps, each with a pattern corresponding to fifty-two of the fifty-four chapters of The Tale of Genji, the eleventh-century novel. The symbolic patterns of five vertical lines, some or all of which are linked by horizontal bars, were popular also in textile and lacquer decoration. Accompanying the set is a miniature album with fifty-two paintings bearing Genji chapter titles and corresponding Genji patterns.
In a Genji game there were five pieces each of five kinds of incense, for a total of twenty-five pieces individually wrapped in small packets. The master of ceremonies shuffles the twenty-five packets, selects five and sets aside the remaining twenty. He then shuffles the five packets and the guests "listen" to the five pieces, recording their answers by drawing five vertical lines. (The line on the far right represents the first scent). If the fragrances are the same, they are linked by a horizontal line drawn across the top. Fifty-two variations are possible. The host repeats this process four more times.
In the incense game, a variety of incenses is burned in succession and the guests attempt to identify it. The parts of this incense set are contained in a large two-layered lacquer box. The top layer contains the writing box with which the host recorded the identification given by each guest. The lower level contains all of the remaining implements. There is a large placemat-like sheet (gold on one side, silver on the other) which the master of ceremonies places on the tatami mat and onto which he transfers the objects from the box. A large block for chopping fragrant incense fragments is stored in its own paper wrapper. (This block is heavily scarred from use). There is also a small knife for cutting chips of incense and a miniature chopping block.
There are two underglaze-blue porcelain incense burners with wood covers, both stored in brocade bags. The incense burners are prepared by burying a glowing charcoal in soft ash shaped to resemble Mount Fuji. Tools for shaping the ash stand in the silver holder. A silver spatula in the shape of a closed fan is used to shape the ash. The pair of silver chopsticks is used to place the coal, to make decorative lines in the ash, and to make an air hole reaching the charcoal. The feather is used to clean stray ash from the sides and top of the incense burner. Using the silver tweezers, a mica plate is placed on top of the mound of ash, covering the air hole. The incense fragments are handled with the special decorative incense chopsticks. An incense spoon is used to place a small incense wood chip on the center of the mica plate. Thus positioned, the incense is heated and gives off a fragrance. This set contains a small three-tiered box lined with metal for holding mica plates.
As the game began, each guest made use of a small box with wood tags. In this set there is a box containing ten little boxes each with twelve tags with a gold lacquer design of a plant on one side and the number 1, 2, 3 or the syllable u on the other. Each guest used a tag to identify the fragrance as the incense burner was passed around. The set has two hexagonal boxes with a slot in the top for gathering votes. There is also a thin silver pick, an answer-sheet holder, used to collect answers that are written onto small paper answer sheets.
The pieces of incense and the mica used for these rounds are set out on a miniature rectangular board with medallion designs. In this set there are four such boards, with three, six, ten and twelve chrysanthemum medallions respectively.
This set also contains one special feature, a small two-tiered box with fifty-two small seals, or stamps, each with a pattern corresponding to fifty-two of the fifty-four chapters of The Tale of Genji, the eleventh-century novel. The symbolic patterns of five vertical lines, some or all of which are linked by horizontal bars, were popular also in textile and lacquer decoration. Accompanying the set is a miniature album with fifty-two paintings bearing Genji chapter titles and corresponding Genji patterns.
In a Genji game there were five pieces each of five kinds of incense, for a total of twenty-five pieces individually wrapped in small packets. The master of ceremonies shuffles the twenty-five packets, selects five and sets aside the remaining twenty. He then shuffles the five packets and the guests "listen" to the five pieces, recording their answers by drawing five vertical lines. (The line on the far right represents the first scent). If the fragrances are the same, they are linked by a horizontal line drawn across the top. Fifty-two variations are possible. The host repeats this process four more times.