Small-leaf sandalwood incense burner inlaid with kui-phoenix patterns and chrysanthemum petal design

Specifications: Height: 30 cm, Diameter: 13 cm
Small-leaf sandalwood | Inlaid with various precious materials

This incense burner is made of small-leaf sandalwood and consists of a censer and a stand. The censer is a box-shaped burner with chrysanthemum petal patterns, featuring three layers of openwork petals. The first layer is the lid, with a yellow flower inlaid in the center as a knob, which can be removed to add incense. The bottom is also decorated with chrysanthemum petals, allowing it to be opened and closed. The layers of flowers and leaves are delicate yet orderly. It rests on three curved ruyi legs, elegant and slender, with the ruyi heads turned outwards to form the feet. The legs are inlaid with antique-style kui dragon patterns in yellow, green, and red, interspersed with white round beads. The bottom is a circular base supporting three tortoise feet. The entire piece is elegant and luxurious, serving as both an incense burner and a stand. It is opulent and magnificent, inspired by classic Qing Dynasty court designs.

This incense burner, inlaid with various precious materials, is made of rosewood, making it even more valuable.

The incense burner patterns are inlaid with materials such as mother-of-pearl, turquoise, and coral, forming a variety of colors including red, green, blue, yellow, and white.

The Baibaoqian (百宝嵌) technique emerged in the Ming Dynasty. It is an inlay technique based on mother-of-pearl inlay, incorporating precious materials such as gemstones, ivory, coral, and jade to highlight the theme of the composition and enhance the decorative effect.

Rosewood is one of the most precious woods in the world, and it was favored by the imperial family during the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, large quantities of rosewood entered the palace, used by the Imperial Household Department to make Qing Dynasty furniture and scholar's objects. This type of rosewood incense burner, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, coral, and turquoise, features a striking contrast between the deep rosewood and the colorful inlaid gemstones, creating a distinct and harmonious effect.

This incense burner has a dignified and elegant shape. It is made entirely of high-quality rosewood, which is as black as lacquer. It is meticulous, steady, dignified and imposing, with regular and neat patterns.

Incense burners were beloved items of scholars and literati. Placed in the hall or on the desk in the study, lighting a stick of incense while reading created the beautiful imagery of "a beautiful woman adding fragrance to the night while reading." For this reason, incense burners have accompanied scholars and literati of different dynasties for thousands of years, and even appeared in many masterpieces, thus ensuring that the culture of incense burners has been passed down to this day.