A JAPANESE KORO (INCENSE BURNER) AND COVER

A JAPANESE KORO (INCENSE BURNER) AND COVER

EDO PERIOD, 18TH OR 19TH CENTURY

The rectangular body raised on four short feet, the sides decorated in polychrome enamels with Chinese-style designs of scholars and attendants in gardens, and butterflies and flowers, two sides with lines of calligraphy from the Book of Songs, the cover with a recumbent shishi and coin-shaped apertures, the base inscribed Da Qing Qianlong nian zhi, 16cm. (2)

The Book of Songs or Shijing is one of the 'Five Classics' of Chinese literature, and the oldest collection of Chinese poems known to exist. It includes 305 pieces, with some works dating from the 11th-7th century BC.