A gold decorated incense-burner in the shape of a court cap by female artist Eiraku Myozen enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 16.5 x 12 x 19 cm (6-1/2 x 5 x 7-1/2 inches) and is in overall excellent condition.
The Eiraku (Nishimura) family is one of Japan’s most important and historically significant lines of pottery artists in Kyoto, tracing back to the 16th century. The skill of Eiraku potters earned the honorific title of Senke-Jissoku, reserved for 10 families of artisans who produce tea ceremony utensils for the san-Senke, or Japanese tea schools. Records and information on early generations of the Nishimura family were destroyed in the Tenmei fire (1788). The box bears the stamps used by the two 14th generation heads of the Eiraku family, Tokuzen (1853-1909) and his wife Myozen (1852-1927). Eiraku Myozen was a rarely accepted female potter of the Meiji to Early Showa eras, protecting and propelling the name of Eiraku into a new generation after the early death of her husband. One of the Ten-Tea Craft Families, her work was especially favored by 12th generation head of Omote Senkei Seisai.
