A kogo – incense box – made of granular brownish gray stoneware in the shape of an irregular pentagon. The cover is decorated with the incised, archaic character for horse (uma). The whole is covered with brown and gray glazes. 

Impressed seal in bottom: Asahi. Japan 1970s-1990s (made for year of the horse, 1978 or 1990).

H ca 1.5 x W 2.75 x D 2.6 in.

Excellent condition

Comes with the original wooden storage box, inscribed on cover: Zodiac (eto) kogo (incense box), horse, and signed: 14^th generation Asahi Hosai and seal.

Included are an introduction to Asahi ware and an explanation of the design of this kogo.

Matsubayashi Hosai XIV (1921-2005) assumed this name in 1947, when his father (Hosai XIII) passed away. He was selected for the Nitten Exhibition and the Japan Craft and Fine Art Exhibition. He held several solo exhibitions in the big department stores in Osaka and Tokyo in the 1950s. In his works Hosai XIV focuses on color changes happening in the kiln during firing while using fern ash, notably kase, hanshi, honte and yohen effects. He is known for his decorative patterns such as amime mesh patterns, kushime comb patterns and Hakeme brush strokes of slip.

Hosai made a series of kogo decorated with the signs of the zodiac during the 1970s and 1980s. The archaic character for horse features on several of his works.