Incense Burner

Incense Burner

Public Domain

Incense Burner
CultureIndian
Titles
  • Incense Burner
Datemid-17th century
MediumZinc alloy; cast, engraved, and inlaid with silver and brass (bidri ware)
DimensionsOverall: 5 1/2 × 5 3/8 in. (14 × 13.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Shazma and Arshad Matin, and an anonymous donor
Object number2019.701.A,.B
Current Location
The Caroline Wiess Law Building
113 Islamic Art Gallery
On view

Explore Further

Department
Art of the Islamic Worlds
Object Type
DescriptionThe architectural form of this incense burner recalls a tomb or shrine, a reminder of the sanctity of the graves of saints and pious individuals whose final resting places, according to Islamic tradition, were said to emanate with the smell of musk, the scent of the soil of Paradise. India is rich with forests that grow aloeswood trees. Historically, incense has been derived from the heartwood of these trees and is commonly called agar or ‘ud. Islamic cultures value perfumes and incense and emphasize their use in both private and public spaces.
Provenance Research Ongoing Exhibition HistoryThe Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982.

Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
The name of a Maratha owner, dada ji bhau ka s... , inscribed on the base in devnagari script, was probably added at least a century later.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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