A porcelain incense burner


Hizen ware, Kakiemon typeEdo period (1615-1868), 18th centuryModeled as a minogame (bushy-tailed tortoise) standing on a pedestal supported by four cabriole legs, the animal looking to the left with its mouth open in a roar, the removable cover worked to resemble the surface of a tortoise shell and pierced with clouds, the porcelain edges of the cover gilded, the pedestal painted with flowers and scrolling vines in polychrome enamels and gilt 6in (15.2cm) wide