香炉 koro (incense burner)

Masatoshi, artist

active Meiji period (1868–1912)

香炉 koro (incense burner), circa 1880s, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: enamel; silver; mother of pearl; inlay (Shibayama 芝山); lacquer; coral

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 1928.1309.a,b,c

Not on display

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Thayer Today

Shibayama refers to an 18th-century technique that involves inlaying precious materials in ivory or metal. During the late 19th century, this inlay technique sparked the fascination of European and American buyers. Objects using this technique were produced almost exclusively for export. Dragons, birds, flowers, and fish adorn this incense burner located in the exhibition The Object Speaks, in the John & Linda Stewart Gallery, 406 .

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Exhibition Label:
"Nature/Natural," Jul-2014, Kris Ercums
While Shibayama is the name of a city in Chiba prefecture, it also refers to a technique developed in the 18th century by Ōnogi Senzō大野木仙蔵 (1772–1781), which involves inlaying precious materials in ivory or metal. The technique was indebted to the earlier practice of inlaying mother-of-pearl in lacquer (known in Japan as raden螺鈿) that was in turn based on Chinese precedents (xiangqian 鑲嵌). This inlay technique is known in the West by the French term lacquer burgauté —derived from the French for “sea ear” (burgau)—a type of mollusk—and lacquer (laque or lac). During the late 19th century, the Shibayama inlay technique became highly desired in European and American markets and was produced almost exclusively for export.