Chinese Incense Burner
Chinese Incense Burner
Chinese Incense Burner
Bronze
.7 in x 4.75 in
Chinese
Accession Number
The vessel is a brass incense burner of Chinese origin. Incense burning possesses a rich history in China, especially in relation to ritual. Ground incense powder was cultivated from incense trees, particularly sandalwood, imported to China by Indian Buddhists in 200 CE. 1 Before incense trees were introduced to China, people burned grains, vegetables, fragrant flowers, and animal oils in their rituals. 2 Incense powders were typically packed into incense cones or joss sticks, which were rods made from wood dust mixed with water that evoked a fragrant odor. 3 Chinese traditional culture dictated the importance of clear and distinguishable scents. There was the notion that a complex mixing of scents conveyed a sort of extravagance and superfluousness that strayed from the pure simplicity of original incense burning practices. 4
Incense cones and joss sticks were burned in ritual vessels, like the one seen here. The shape of these vessels was intentionally made to accumulate the incense ash at the bottom over repeated use for good fortune, as ash was seen as a tangible expression of immaterial deities. 5 Additionally, this vessel’s smooth curves mimic traditional food containers or pots in China, as there was a direct correlation between incense burning and nourishment for those in the afterlife. 6 The Mandarin term for incense burner is xiang lu, or “fragrant pot,” articulating a connection to cooking pots. 7 As the burner functioned as the food’s bowl, it assumed a reliquary significance just as the incense did. Incense also played an instrumental role in religious rituals.
Burning incense took on an intensified religious connotation in China after the introduction of Buddhism from India during the Han period (206 BC – 220 AD). The Sanskrit term for incense, ghanda, held a broader meaning than xiang, the Chinese term for incense, as it also referred to anything that carried an aroma. 8 In South Asia, ghanda in later periods also denoted “related to Buddha,” demonstrating its close ties to Buddhism. 9
Multiple references to incense exist in the Vimalakirti Sutra, which describes a pure land of incense. 10 In this land, incense was used to erect dwellings and clothes. Incense could even enhance the teachings of the Dharma through placing the worshiper in a meditative state. The cross-legged figure atop the object’s lid demonstrates this notion, as he exhibits an aura of complete tranquility. Similarly, the Avatamsaka Sutra contained several allusions to incense within the seas of perfume in the lotus world. 11 Adopting a magical power once burned, incense functioned as a medium through which individuals could communicate with higher beings, ultimately achieving greater wisdom and virtue. 12
Additionally, the released smoke embodied a material representation through an ephemeral expression of the godly realm, rendering the sensation that the spiritual world could be made accessible to humans. 13 This smoke would emanate from the cavities within the object’s dome-like lid when materials inside were burned, visually manifesting itself to the user. The flowy robe of the cross-legged figure flares up as in response to this smoke, further supporting the notion that the user would experience this smoke in a palpable way. The lighting of incense also often marked the beginning of religious rituals by initiating communication with the gods. Worshipers could throw an object, such as a crescent-shaped wooden block, through the smoke three times to attract the attention of the deity as well as to infuse the object with ling, or the deity’s spirit. 14 The act of burning incense, the incense burner, and incense itself intertwined as important components of ritual in China.
Nikki Weitzenhoffer
History
Class of 2025
Isabel Kinney
Communication Studies and History of Art and Architecture
Class of 2023
Annotated Bibliography
Habkirk, Scott, and Hsun Chang. “Scents, Community, and Incense in Traditional Chinese Religion.” Material Religion 13, no. 2 (2017): 156–74.
Habkirk and Chang’s “Scents, Community, and Incense in Traditional Chinese Religion” explores the role of incense in building communities and forging connections with the spiritual world. The article also includes a brief history of incense in China, which supports our understanding of incense trees as well as the kinds of materials that were burned in censors. The authors also provide insight into the ritual function of incense burners in a spiritual context, introducing the symbolic relationship between food and incense as well as their role in initiating communication with higher beings.
Yan, Chan Ka. “Joss Stick Manufacturing: A Study of a Traditional Industry in Hong Kong.” Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 29 (1989): 94–120.
This journal article provides essential information about the origins of incense in traditional Chinese culture. Yan goes into detail about particular incense trees, the incense manufacturing process, and the makeup and methods of creating and using joss sticks. Most pertinent to our discussion are the sections on “Incense Cultivation” and “Joss Stick Manufacturing,” which lay out an important history of these processes. This is useful in developing a background information section to position our artifact as a tangible relic in the larger history of traditional incense culture.
Milburn, Olivia. “Aromas, Scents, and Spices: Olfactory Culture in China before the Arrival of Buddhism.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 136, no. 3 (2016): 441–64.
Milburn goes beyond just a history of olfactory culture in this journal article and digs into deeper symbolic meaning of cultural practices. In particular, Milburn discusses the importance of scents in incense and the actual ritualistic act of burning incense before the introduction of Buddhist practices. She analyzes the incense and other olfactory rituals through looking at the excavation of multiple Chinese archaeological sites before the unification of China in 221 B.C.E. Milburn uses primary sources from contemporary philosophers and officials, and her comprehensive analysis is extremely useful in giving context to our artifact and taking a step beyond solely fact into symbolic exploration.
Huang, Bing. “The Religious and Technological History of the Tang Dynasty Spherical Incense Burner.” Religions (Basel, Switzerland ) 13, no. 6 (2022): 1-19.
Huang’s work provides an overview of the development of the spherical incense burner from the Tang Dynasty. It also explores the incense burner’s ritualistic function in religion as well as its influence on similar objects in Europe and the Middle East. In particular, the section titled “The Power of Incense” informs our discussion of incense as accumulating importance within the religious realm in China after the introduction of Buddhism. Through articulating references of incense within the sutras, this section reveals the deep-seated origins of incense within these religious texts. Huang also illuminates the importance of the visual manifestation of smoke when incense was burned, which ties well with the visual imagery expressed in our object.