Chinese Incense Burner or Censer

Twisted rope handles on a low, broad body, solid enough to anchor a room.

This incense burner or censer comes from Hebei Province, China, and is contemporary work in bronze. Rectangular censers with upright handles follow ancient Chinese ritual bronze shapes, and they have long been used in temples and scholars' studios alike. Here a broad, bombé body swells out below a flat rim and rests on four short cabriole feet. Two upright handles cast as twisted rope rise from the rim. A separate rectangular stand with scroll feet sits below. The surface shows a dark brown patina with streaks of lighter bronze. It is 10 inches wide, 6.5 deep and 7 high.

Patient, heavy and entirely unbothered by smoke.