Incense Burner in the Shape of a Rooster

Period:
Edo period (1615–1868)
Date:
18th century
Culture:
Japan
Medium:
Copper alloy with enamels, gilding, and silvering
Dimensions:
H. 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm)
Classification:
Cloisonné
Credit Line:
Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 1993
Accession Number:
1993.193a–c
  • Description

    This incense burner in the shape of a rooster represents a high point of Edo enameling only rarely found on objects of this size. Except for the head and feet, the rooster's form was not molded but hammered from a sheet of copper alloy. The surface is embellished by intricate chasing on gilded and silvered copper. The
    enameling is a result of the champlevé technique, in which silica paste colored by various metallic oxides is set in grooves that are hammered or chiseled out of the metal base, rather than being held by wire soldered onto the base, as in cloisonné.

60008022

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