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Incense burner with Persian inscription

15th–16th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 216
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
This incense burner illustrates the cultural and artistic interaction between the Islamic world and Ming China. Its squat tripod form and rope-shaped handles hark back to fourteenth-century Chinese archaistic bronzes. The Persian poem around its shoulder, however, indicates that it was made for a Muslim patron residing in China. The inlaid cartouche on the base dates this censer to 1451–52 (AH 855) or 1598–99 (AH 1007) if read inverted

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 明 銅錯金波斯文鬲式爐
  • Title: Incense burner with Persian inscription
  • Period: Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
  • Date: 15th–16th century
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Copper alloy, gold inlay
  • Dimensions: H. 5 5/16 in. (13.5 cm); Diam. 7 in. (!7.8 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Lent by Capital Museum
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photograph courtesy of Capital Museum, Beijing
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art