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Sometsuke Kuromaron Chimon Kogo (染付黒マロン地文香合)

This is an Arita ware incense container which Ryuzumi-san has created.
Comes with a lid.

Kogo (香合)
A container for putting incense.
It's one of the tea utensils called "o-chadougu".

In the process of tea ceremony, its have a charcoal setting procedure called sumi-temae.
It's necessary for raise the temperature of the water in the tea kettle.
In a tea ceremony, usually sumi-temae may be omitted.
So kogo is often displayed in the alcove.
It tends to be reflected by the taste of tea masters.

Sometsuke (染付)
- A pottery with blue pictures and patterns on a white background-

It refers to the skill of blue-painting on a unglazed ceramic.
Patterns are painted with a "gosu" containing cobalt oxide that turns blue color.
And it's baked after being glazed on top of it.

Sometsuke has been made from the early days of Arita ware in 1610s.
At first it was influenced the Chinese pottery, there's a pile of efforts by potters and
today's sometsuke has one kind of exquisite beauty even in its simplicity.