Incense Burner thumbnail 1
Incense Burner thumbnail 2
+19
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Japan, Room 45, The Toshiba Gallery

Incense Burner

1660-1680 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The name Ninsei, along with Raku, is synonymous with the rise of Kyoto as a major centre for the production of ceramics. According to the Tōkō Hitsuyō, written by Ninsei’s student and successor Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743), Ninsei’s proper name was Nonomura Seiemon, his art name being a combination of ‘sei’, the first character of his given name, and ‘nin’, the first character of Ninnaji, the temple in the northwest part of Kyoto in whose grounds he established the Omuro kiln in 1647.

While there is documentary evidence to suggest that Ninsei died in 1694, his date of birth is unknown. A record in the Ninnaji temple referring to a ‘Tamba-yaki Seiemon’ (Tamba pottery Seiemon) corresponds with the fact that Nonomura was a village in the province of Tamba, situated to the west of Kyoto. If Ninsei was born and trained as a potter in Tamba, we know from the Tōkō Hitsuyō that he also worked in Seto, a large ceramic-producing centre in modern Aichi Prefecture renowned among 17th century aficionados of chanoyu (the tea ceremony) for the high quality of its brown, iron-glazed tea caddies.

By the time Ninsei came to set up the Omuro kiln he was a highly seasoned potter who was able to take full advantage of the market for high quality ceramics that Kyoto represented. His early success in this was helped by the patronage he received from the influential tea master Kanamori Sōwa (1584-1658). The ceramics known to have been made for Sōwa are relatively restrained, but during the 1660s and 1670s Ninsei went on to develop the highly colourful and painterly style of overglaze-decorated stoneware for which he is renowned.

This incense burner is an interesting fusion of restraint and exuberance: restraint in terms of it being painted in plain tones of underglaze iron-brown, and exuberance in terms of its shape, which imitates the conch shell trumpets famously carried by Japanese mountain ascetics (yamabushi). With regard to the latter, there is a passage in the diary left by Morita Kyūemon, a potter from the province of Tosa who visited Kyoto in 1678, which mentions how the Omuro kiln was famous for its incense burners modelled after pheasants, mandarin ducks, prawns and other natural forms. The V&A’s incense burner has a sibling in the form of a slightly larger and more colourful, overglaze-decorated example in the collection of the Seikadō Bunko in Tokyo.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Incense Burner
  • Lid
  • Insert
Materials and techniques
Stoneware, with clear glaze and stippled underglaze iron decoration
Brief description
Incense burner in the form of a conch-shell trumpet, glazed stoneware, Kyoto, Omuro kiln, by Nonomura Ninsei, 1660-1680
Physical description
Incense burner in the form of a conch shell trumpet
Dimensions
  • Height: 11.5cm
  • Width: 27.6cm
  • Depth: 15.7cm
Gallery label
  • Incense Burner in the shape of a conch shell Stoneware with clear glaze and stippled underglaze iron decoration Stamped mark Ninsei Kyoto, probably by Nonomura Ninsei (active about 1640 to 1690)(1986)
  • Incense burner in the shape of conch-shell trumpet Kyoto, Omuro kiln, by Nonomura Ninsei (active 1640-1690) Stoneware with clear glaze over painting in iron brown 1660-1680 V&A 260-1877 (December 2014)
Object history
Purchased from the Japanese Commissioners for the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876, accessioned in 1877. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subjects depicted
Association
Summary
The name Ninsei, along with Raku, is synonymous with the rise of Kyoto as a major centre for the production of ceramics. According to the Tōkō Hitsuyō, written by Ninsei’s student and successor Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743), Ninsei’s proper name was Nonomura Seiemon, his art name being a combination of ‘sei’, the first character of his given name, and ‘nin’, the first character of Ninnaji, the temple in the northwest part of Kyoto in whose grounds he established the Omuro kiln in 1647.

While there is documentary evidence to suggest that Ninsei died in 1694, his date of birth is unknown. A record in the Ninnaji temple referring to a ‘Tamba-yaki Seiemon’ (Tamba pottery Seiemon) corresponds with the fact that Nonomura was a village in the province of Tamba, situated to the west of Kyoto. If Ninsei was born and trained as a potter in Tamba, we know from the Tōkō Hitsuyō that he also worked in Seto, a large ceramic-producing centre in modern Aichi Prefecture renowned among 17th century aficionados of chanoyu (the tea ceremony) for the high quality of its brown, iron-glazed tea caddies.

By the time Ninsei came to set up the Omuro kiln he was a highly seasoned potter who was able to take full advantage of the market for high quality ceramics that Kyoto represented. His early success in this was helped by the patronage he received from the influential tea master Kanamori Sōwa (1584-1658). The ceramics known to have been made for Sōwa are relatively restrained, but during the 1660s and 1670s Ninsei went on to develop the highly colourful and painterly style of overglaze-decorated stoneware for which he is renowned.

This incense burner is an interesting fusion of restraint and exuberance: restraint in terms of it being painted in plain tones of underglaze iron-brown, and exuberance in terms of its shape, which imitates the conch shell trumpets famously carried by Japanese mountain ascetics (yamabushi). With regard to the latter, there is a passage in the diary left by Morita Kyūemon, a potter from the province of Tosa who visited Kyoto in 1678, which mentions how the Omuro kiln was famous for its incense burners modelled after pheasants, mandarin ducks, prawns and other natural forms. The V&A’s incense burner has a sibling in the form of a slightly larger and more colourful, overglaze-decorated example in the collection of the Seikadō Bunko in Tokyo.
Bibliographic references
  • Augustus Wollaston Franks and M. Shioda, Japanese Pottery. [London]: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1880. South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks; 18. Catalogue number 102
  • Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.
Collection
Accession number
260-1877

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Record createdDecember 22, 1999
Record URL
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