Incense Burner (Xianglu)

This incense burner has a stemmed cup and a domed, openwork cover pierced with geometric patterns. Its design is distinctive to ceramics from south-central China that were made during the Western Han dynasty (206BCE–9 CE). It was probably modeled on a bronze incense burner cast with a perforated lid for the release of fragrant smoke. Other common forms from the Han dynasty are in the case to the right.