Mountain-Shaped Incense Burner

Art Institute of Chicago

Mountain-Shaped Incense Burner

ChinaLinkedCulture matchlcp-777a05c2acea

Date
Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), 100 BCE–100 CE
Medium
Bronze
Culture
China
Department
Arts of Asia
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
32631

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

During the Han dynasty, fantastical beliefs in immortality and exotic lands inspired the earliest three-dimensional landscapes. The conical lid of this incense burner, shaped like towering peaks, is associated with the mountainous Isles of the Blessed. These islands were described as the realm of immortal beings (xian) in the myth, superstition, and magic widespread in Han Dynasty Religion. Fragrant smoke wafting through holes in the lid of this incense burner would evoke such a mist-shrouded utopia.

View at Art Institute of Chicago ↗

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.uX-QHfoPZS_Ky8eF.PyLl0iLBWyoEjTz2DpiItgIiEEWUpmGD0GaBQTvVFafL3lW5uj2Cvt3jTCUOPEBAHdax4k0f66IGimzV7wJtvtgt-AKxHuuNZDOmI-gTsCzaH2AZrk-osiy38pRaxRRf3w0ja2a_FplWYcz8BuRFiysnP5HmMk8Qq6Gq10iJ5AljNon5cWXsGENMYLPBPFYG29Oxxx-NYGlYtZoMuA31q9Ul4R4KuRVWCfjsIihPEUcbdooWcGrF1q883UUGXm9NWIaL_IZL_jHj2xeihYP-w35QSee at Art Institute of Chicago QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.PMBkQQGXoSk5owWn.Rb03C3tP_q7MED1fJU4cDgbAuCDoNdFQoFLkXqIkNbA9n2C3utyRJDpHW6qBEbdTEGiTHff-FqSGWoV1ZZNr-4IswUiKrNHkw6Vsfb2yJ_L9CR4JQhARN1MFw1vg_xA2DYVqdxTGU_yhWNz7d1m2balm_44O8n4zGx-VrkNuSmu497a2IRo-grS9PxODuFeKSFqi6MG6VGx20-gmTEDc8KdDpu4ObZCYRuYYBdpOGR3HPCI9MleiKKsNSd7VdOPEaeYyhaz2f7Mhr7tdrB08RQ
Open this page
See at Art Institute of Chicago

Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line
Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection
Provenance
John Sparks, London; sold to Kate Sturges Buckingham (1858–1937), Chicago, [Kate served as executor of her sister Lucy Maud Buckingham's estate and continued expanding Lucy's collection following her death in 1920] Dec. 13, 1926; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Dec. 13, 1926.

Linked open data

Authority identifiers that link this record into the wider web of cultural data — stable references you can follow to the source.

Object type
AAT300411548

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

  • Representative object from the topic Incense Burners Across Cultures
    Incense Burners Across Cultures

    These objects are all incense burners or censers used for burning fragrant materials in religious, ceremonial, or domestic contexts across Chinese, Coptic, and European cultures spanning multiple dynasties and periods.

    56 objects from 3 institutions

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.