How to choose an incense holder

Start with the shape of incense you burn. Stick incense needs a holder with a small hole and something beneath it to catch the ash. Cone incense needs a dish or a covered burner. Nearly everything here is made for sticks, which is what Japanese incense almost always is.

Then choose your series

Heritage has unglazed, earthy surfaces drawn from Buddhist and Shinto temples. Best in a meditation corner, or a room with natural wood and linen.

Lotus takes the shape of the lotus flower found in modern Japanese homes. Soft colours and a smooth glaze, suited to a living room or a bedside table.

Small is for tight spaces: a desk, a shelf, a windowsill.

Plate is a wide dish that catches ash along the whole stick rather than at one end. Best if you burn incense daily, or dislike cleaning up.

One thing people forget

Check that your incense will actually stand in the holder you choose. Japanese incense has no bamboo core, so it is thinner than Indian incense, usually around 2.7 mm. A holder sized for a Japanese stick will not always take a thicker one.

Most of the ceramic here is Mino ware from Gifu prefecture, where potters have worked the same clay for more than 1,300 years. The brass pieces will darken slowly with use, which is expected rather than a fault.