Incense holder with Shippō pattern (with incense holder).
This incense holder imported from Japan to burn the incense in an easy and convenient way.
Shippō (七 宝) refers to the 7 Buddhist treasures, the 7 spiritual values that allow an individual to achieve "Awakening".
These 7 treasures are belief (Gold), virtue (Silver), conscience (Lapis-lazuli), altruism (Crystal), listening (Pearl), generosity (Coral), wisdom (Agathe).
This motif dates from the beginning of the Nara period (710-794). His first appearance in Japan is on fabrics and a mirror (Kagami) kept at the Shousouin 正 倉 院 depot in Nara. It is later found in patterns of gold cut kirikane 切 金 in Buddhist images from the Heian period. He was then forgotten for centuries. It was not until the Keicho period (1596-1615), the Musashi period, that this motif was rediscovered and reused by an artist, Hirata Donin, who became an imperial artisan under Tokugawa Ieyasu.
In the Edo period, it was used on porcelain, metal objects, wood and lacquer, often in combination with other motifs. It was also popular on female 着 物 kimonos.

This incense holder can be used as such with the encens stand provided.

Material: Ceramic
Colour: White
Pattern colour: Blue
Length: 9.5cm
Width: 9.5cm
Height: 2.3cm.