Chinese Incense Burner or Censer

A bronze cup on a short trumpet foot, plain as can be and very comfortable with it.

This incense burner or censer is from Hebei Province, China, in bronze. Chinese incense burners have been made in bronze and ceramic for many centuries, and simple stemmed forms like this are often found in offering and household use. The bowl is wide and shallow, with a gently flared lip. It rests on a short, hollow stem that widens toward the base. The surface is smooth, a dark olive-brown with soft shifts of tone where the metal has aged. Small patches of lighter wear mark the rim. It is 3.5 inches high and 5.5 in diameter.

Nothing to look at but the shape, and that is plenty.