Nabeshima Celadon Kōgō & Kensui Set by Saiun — Signed Tea Ceremony Set

A Nabeshima celadon set comprising a kōgō (incense container) and kensui (waste-water vessel), both in the refined light-blue celadon glaze tradition of the Nabeshima kilns, by the artist Saiun. Collectors seeking Nabeshima celadon tea set, Japanese celadon kogo kensui, light blue porcelain tea ceremony, Saiun ceramics signed box, Arita porcelain set Japan, celadon tea ceremony vessel, Japanese blue glaze chado set, antique Nabeshima ware, celadon incense container Japan, kensui waste water bowl, matching tea ceremony set, signed Japanese porcelain set, museum quality celadon will find here an exercise in understatement.

🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]
Dimensions: Not listed
Condition: No cracks. Clean and complete.
Box: Signed wooden storage box with artist attribution
SKU: 260402_a_2609

🔹 [ Cultural & Artistic Insight ]
Nabeshima ware was the official kiln production of the Nabeshima clan, lords of Saga Domain in Hizen Province (present-day Saga Prefecture), from the late 17th century through the Meiji period. Unlike the commercial Arita ware produced for export and domestic sale, Nabeshima pieces were made exclusively as gifts for the Tokugawa shogunate and other high-ranking daimyo — never sold, never traded. This exclusivity bred a standard of technical perfection unmatched in Japanese ceramics: the glaze application, the kiln placement, the clay preparation, all controlled to a degree impossible in commercial production. Nabeshima celadon (seiji) — the blue-green glaze deriving from iron oxide fired in reduction — represents the most restrained voice within this tradition. Where overglaze enamel Nabeshima dazzles with color and pattern, celadon Nabeshima speaks in a single tone, the entire beauty residing in the quality of the glaze surface and the purity of the form beneath it.

🔹 [ Deep-Dive Commentary ]
The celadon glaze on this set achieves its characteristic pale blue-green through a precise balance: iron content in the glaze of approximately 1-2%, fired in a reducing atmosphere that converts ferric iron (yellow-brown) to ferrous iron (blue-green). The temperature must be sufficient to fully melt the glaze without allowing it to flow or bubble — a narrow window that demands kiln mastery. The resulting surface has a quality the Japanese describe as "jade-like": cool, smooth, slightly translucent at the edges where the glaze thins over a raised form. The kōgō and kensui pairing is itself significant — matching sets for the tea room are less common than individual pieces, and the coherence of two forms in the same glaze tradition from the same hand offers a completeness rarely encountered. Saiun's signed box confirms the attribution and provides provenance for the collector. These are quiet objects, but they are not humble ones.

🔹 [ JAPANESE DESCRIPTION / 日本語解説 ]
鍋島焼 砧青磁 香合＆建水セット、彩雲作。鍋島藩御用窯の伝統を受け継ぐ砧青磁の端正な形に、淡い青磁釉が品格を宿します。香合と建水のセットは珍しく、茶室での統一感ある取り合わせが可能。共箱付き。傷・欠けなし。

🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ]
• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days
• Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking)
• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials