Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Sculpture of the Day: A Chinese Incense Burner, Eighteenth Century


 

Incense Burner
Chinese
Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period
1736-1795
The Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool

From the Chinese collection of the Lady Lever Art Gallery in Liverpool, England, comes this lovely porcelain incense burner. In the form of a rabbit atop a cloud, carrying a branch of fungus on its arched back, this vessel with its celadon glaze also features painted details in brown and sapphire blue.


The mouth and nostrils are ventilated, allowing for the smoke of the incense (which was burned inside of it) to escape and fill the air with fragrance. This object was created in the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795) and today seems just the perfect secular image for Easter. 

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