These unusual celadon-glazed oxen are incense burners. Their removable saddles conceal an opening for inserting incense, and holes in the saddles, nostrils and ears emit the fragrance, although it is unlikely they were ever used for this purpose in Europe.

Distinctive green-grey glazes known as celadon originated in China following the Han period (206 bc–ad 220). The technique was much imitated in Japan, particularly on wares made at Seto during the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Potters at the Arita kilns later combined celadon glaze with underglaze blue and other colours. When Chinese porcelain production temporarily stalled following the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644, the VOC’s awareness of this trade may have encouraged them to turn to Japanese suppliers.

Although not listed in any early inventories of the porcelain collection of Mary II, the pair’s long-term presence at Hampton Court Palace suggests that these oxen may have formed part of her collection. In 1857, Queen Victoria lent ‘Two Indian China bulls’ to the Art Treasures of the United Kingdom exhibition in Manchester, which were probably these.

Text adapted from Japan: Courts and Culture (2020)

A pair of porcelain incense burners and covers in the form of saddled oxen.Each ox is rather roughly shaped with curled horns turned inwards and downwards, the tail lying on the left flank, and stands on four unglazed feet; on the back is an oval hole over which the humped saddle fits as a cover, moulded with a matting design and with a plain arched frame, with a hole pierced in the centre and two flanges beneath to hold it in place. With light celadon glaze.

Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume I.