Incense burner in shape of a tripod (li) with design of lotus and with three kinds of fruit (the "three plenties") on the underside of vessel

Object Details

• Description

  Cloisonne incense burner in the shape of a tripod (li). Wooden cover with Yuan dynasty jade hat finial used as a knob.

• Label

  It was customary to burn incense in front of ancestor portraits or religious paintings as a sign of reverence, and the smoke was a symbolic link between the earthly realm and the heavenly world. This cloisonné incense burner with stylized lotus flowers is of such high quality that it may have been made for use in the imperial palace. Three symbols of luck appear on the underside: a peach for immortality, a pomegranate for numerous heirs, and an orange for good fortune. Cloisonné is made by outlining a design in wires that are soldered onto a metal body and then filling the cells, or cloisons, with powdered enamel. After firing, the enamel becomes glasslike.

  The wooden cover, which is later than the incense burner, has a jade knob made from a Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) hat finial.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Tales of the Brush: Literary Masterpieces in Chinese Painting (July 28, 2007 to January 13, 2008)

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  Worshipping the Ancestors: Chinese Commemorative Portraits (June 17 to September 9, 2001)

  On Becoming Immortal (May 9, 1993 to August 15, 1994)

  Chinese Art (May 9 to November 29, 1993)

• Origin

  China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 13: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1530s, 1400s

• Place

  China

• Topic

  Art, Fruit, Chinese Art, Incense, Cloisonné, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Lotus, Zhengde reign (1506 - 1521), Hongzhi reign (1488 - 1505)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes