An incense burner is a vessel in which incense is burned, especially during religious services. The main purpose of incense burners include fumigating clothing, sacrifice and keep a cheerful and tranquil mind during reading because ancient people believed incense was beneficial to study for it can appease the spirit and inspire the mind.
Xuande is the reigning title of emperor Xuande of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The Xuande incense burner (Xuande Lu), was made during the reign of emperor Xuande of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and is a general name for all the bronze burners engraved with the characters “宣德” (Xuande) or for bronze burners that have similar patterns with Xuande incense burner.
To satisfy the craze for incense burners, the emperor Xuande ordered officials to import fine copper from Thailand and made them into incense burners in accordance with the patterns of porcelains from the historical records and the famous five kilns (including Ru Kiln, Guan Kiln, Ge Kiln, Jun Kiln and Ding Kiln, where those kilns are famous for their porcelain making). To assure the quality of incense burners, the craftsmen forged the copper with dozens of costly metals including gold and silver. After being forged ten times, the incense burners would have smooth surfaces and gorgeous shines. According to the different forging, Xuande incense burners mainly have five colors: chestnut color, eggplant color, birchleaf pear color, brown and Tibetan paper’s color, among which the incense burner with Tibetan paper’s color is most precious.
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