Cloisonné Enamel Incense Burner (Koro), Japan, Late-Meiji c.1900

The koro is used to burn incense sticks or perfume in its solid form. Alongside flower arrangement and tea ceremony, incense burning stands as the art of highest refinement in Japanese culture. The bowl of the koro is placed on three legs with looped handles and gilded brass rims, while the pierced lid is formed with two hearts. The koro is decorated with various geometric patterns, flowers, foliage, swirls and rare Egyptian figure motifs on a glittering gilt background. Japan’s interest in Egyptian motifs came towards the end of the Meiji era, after the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-1905, with the first wave of emigration from Egypt.