# Incense Burner (Xianglu)

- By: China (probably from Hunan province)
- Date: Western Han dynasty, 206 BCE–9 CE
- Medium: Gray earthenware with polychrome painting and openwork decoration
- Classification: Vessel
- Dimensions: 14.3 × 14.4 cm (5 5/8 × 5 11/16 in.); Diam.: 14.4 cm (5 11/16 in.)
- Culture: China
- Credit line: Bequest of Russell Tyson
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/21397)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/069c72a417526628fbcd42b558fa9ca6.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

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.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0