LIDDED BOX BASE, Ko-Seto, Kamakura Period (1185–1333 CE)

This is the base of a Ko-Seto lidded box dating to the Kamakura period.
Originally a small box that would have been accompanied by a lid, only the body survives.

Although small enough to fit in the palm of the hand, the body is markedly warped and the rim undulates unevenly. In this distorted form the characteristic presence of Ko-Seto clay and glaze remains clearly evident.

The surface shows a white, coarse clay texture and areas where the glaze has pooled with a pale green tinge. During firing the glaze flowed, and the remaining glaze concentrates the traces of an old kiln within this small vessel. Here and there are stone-blisters and rough patches, producing the coarse, vigorous expression characteristic of Kamakura ceramics.

The base has a small hole, though it is glazed. A diminutive object that, held in the palm, preserves the presence of an old kiln and invites comparison to an incense container.