Four-lobed box (from incense set)

second half 18th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 221

Introduced from Europe, the technique of painted enamel was also commonly used by Chinese makers to decorate local wares, such as this incense set. Three-piece sets like this one appeared in China no later than the thirteenth century and included censers to burn small pieces of incense over burning charcoal. The box would have contained incense woods or balls, and the bottle would have held a pair of chopsticks and a spatula for handling the incense materials. (Set includes (81.1.638a–c, .642, .637a, b)

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

清乾隆銅胎畫琺瑯香具鑪瓶
Title: Four-lobed box (from incense set)
Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95)
Date: second half 18th century
Culture: China
Medium: Painted enamel on copper alloy
Dimensions: H. 2 in. (5.1 cm); W. 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm); D. 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm)
Classification: Enamels
Credit Line: Bequest of Stephen Whitney Phoenix, 1881
Object Number: 81.1.637a, b
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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