Chinese Temple Incense Holder

Cast iron with something to say, in characters better left to those who read them.

Iron founders of Shanxi Province, China, cast this temple incense holder in iron in the late 19th or early 20th century. Vessels like it commonly stood in temple courtyards or before altars to hold burning incense sticks. The body is rounded and heavy-shouldered, with a decorated band at the rim, relief blossoms on either side and a panel of raised characters between them. A flared foot is textured with a diamond pattern. The surface is mottled gray-brown.

About 8 inches tall. Quite content to stay wherever you set it down.