| Project by madburg | posted 01-11-2022 01:12 PM | 589 views | 1 time favorited | 15 comments |  |
 |
Having been fascinated with Kodo, the Japanese Incense ceremony, see my incense box here, I came across a range of other boxes and specialist paraphernalia related to incense while researching kodo. While incense is burnt as part of many religious ceremonies and to ‘purify’ shrines and temples, many Japanese use incense in their homes where different incense fragrances are used at different times of the day to relax mind and body. This can be in the form of josh sticks, incense coils, burning trails of powdered incense, heating incense over charcoal or other heat sources, all of which have their own equipment and utensils.
So, the idea of making a chest to house all this equipment and the different incense used took shape. Sourcing it all was a challenge but great fun. Most came via AliExpress, EBay and a range of specialist online incense and aromatherapy stores. It was a slow process as while things are cheap off Ali, and often with free postage, it can take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks for things to arrive. Of course, I needed all the equipment first, before I could start to experiment with and plan the layout of the chest.
The chest is compact at around a 9 inch / 270mm cube. It has a lift off lid, tied with a traditional obijimi sash.
The chest is marine ply veneered with red maple burl on the outside and cherry on the inside. The expanses of maple on the outside is broken by strings and edging of black. Inside are two trays made of banksia. The full-size top tray holds charcoal tablets, T-lites and a range of equipment for producing incense trails.
The small tray below holds a range of different incense – agarwood, sandalwood, salwood, frankincense’s, josh powder etc.
The bottom of the chest holds various jars, containers, and incense burners.
The finished chest is not as complex as my first incense chest, but was just as rewarding to make and now use.
Please ask if you have any questions. Thank you for looking.
-- Madburg WA
15 comments so far
tinnman65
home | projects | blog
1444 posts in 4864 days
#1 posted 01-11-2022 01:23 PM
Beautiful work, you have done it again with a box that is unique. the warm colors of the wood fit the project very well.
-- Paul--- Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. — Scott Adams
Dave Polaschek
home | projects | blog
10237 posts in 2032 days
#2 posted 01-11-2022 01:37 PM
Another beautiful box, and we’ll-planned and executed as always. Nicely done!
-- Dave - Santa Fe
987Ron
home | projects | blog
3678 posts in 766 days
#3 posted 01-11-2022 01:54 PM
+1 on the beautiful box. Not a fan of incense of any kind but the box is great.
-- Ron
Jim Rowe
home | projects | blog
1137 posts in 3762 days
#4 posted 01-11-2022 02:27 PM
Yet another great piece of work. Veneered plywood provides so many opportunities when the solid wood is not available.
Thanks for sharing.
Jim
-- It always looks better when it's finished!
recycle1943
home | projects | blog
7001 posts in 3072 days
#5 posted 01-11-2022 02:37 PM
a very well planned out storage box, not to mention very attractive
-- Dick, Malvern Ohio - my biggest fear is that when I die, my wife sells my toys for what I told her I paid for them
therealSteveN
home | projects | blog
9964 posts in 2024 days
#6 posted 01-11-2022 04:16 PM
Wonderful work and so complete. Nice job.
-- Think safe, be safe
MrWolfe
home | projects | blog
1823 posts in 1573 days
#7 posted 01-11-2022 05:27 PM
Gorgeous build and wonderful storage for all the accoutrements!
Perfection!
sras
home | projects | blog
6697 posts in 4579 days
#8 posted 01-11-2022 05:48 PM
I always enjoy seeing your creations. Stunning as always.
-- Steve - Impatience is Expensive
James E McIntyre
home | projects | blog
1882 posts in 2742 days
#9 posted 01-11-2022 05:49 PM
Your a great box maker Mads.
You really did a lot of wonderful collecting.
What are the strings and black edging made of and how did you get them lined up so well?
-- James E McIntyre
wildwoodbybrianjohns
home | projects | blog
3204 posts in 997 days
#10 posted 01-11-2022 06:30 PM
Amazing that you can fit all that gear in such a small space.
Red maple burl! Hmmm, ima going hunting for that. Very pretty.
Curious as to the thickness of the ply you start with? 3/8ths?
-- WWBBJ: the first to compare a woman´s cheek to a rose was a poet. The second, an idiot. Dali
oldrivers
home | projects | blog
3102 posts in 3016 days
#11 posted 01-11-2022 07:06 PM
You did a Dandy job, looks Great.
-- Soli Deo gloria!
madburg
home | projects | blog
367 posts in 2293 days
#12 posted 01-12-2022 12:12 AM
Thanks everyone –
James the black is just dyed black, which I think is boxwood or sycamore. I buy the strings and edgeing from a UK supplier.
Brian – the marine ply substrat is sold as 9mm down here in Australia.
-- Madburg WA
Peteybadboy
home | projects | blog
4817 posts in 3399 days
#13 posted 01-12-2022 09:43 AM
madburg,
Wow that is well thought out and executed! A family treasure for sure.
Congrats on your DT1
-- Petey
CedarSavage
home | projects | blog
16 posts in 204 days
#14 posted 01-17-2022 02:52 PM
Beautiful box and so well planned out. The design plan itself, making sure everything fit perfectly, must have been quite a challenge.
-- Mac - Mountain, WI
Calmudgeon
home | projects | blog
684 posts in 2877 days
#15 posted 01-22-2022 02:32 PM
That’s a thing of beauty. Great craftsmanship.
-- "As are the things we make, so are we ourselves." - Lin Yutang
Have your say...