Burner

Item number Edz947 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Incense burner of brass, shaped like a flattened sphere and open at the top. Has three solid round legs, 0.6 cm. long, which flow smoothly into body of burner. Mouth has raised neck 0.9 cm. high with recessed ring around outer circumference. Rim is 0.6 cm. wide with upturned outer edge. Smooth, shiny surface. Under base, on square ground, there are the Chinese characters 'Gret Ming Hsuan-te'.

History Of Use

Incense in the form of sticks, or pieces of sandalwood, is used as an offering to gods and ancestral spirits in Chinese culture. The ceremonial burning of incense may have been introduced to China with the increasing influence of Buddhism in the 3rd century C.E., if not earlier. This is a very small incense burner, used perhaps in home worship. It may have been made in the style of a Ming Dynasty, Hsuan Te (1426-35) piece, rather than being actually made at the time.