Tripod Incense Burner with Sacred Mountain Lid
Tripod Incense Burner with Sacred Mountain Lid
Place of OriginChina, reportedly from Xi’an (Shaanxi)
DateHan Dynasty (221-206 BCE)
DimensionsH: 10 3/4 in.
MediumEarthenware; unglazed
ClassificationCeramics
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number
1928.200
Not on View
DescriptionTripod vessel with animal-form feet, decorated with running zigzag motifs; conical mountain-form cover in high relief with two dragons among cliffs, trees, and birds; representing the Daoist “Sacred Mountain” (Boshan).
Label TextThis vessel represents one of the Han dynasty’s most original inventions - the boshanlu, or hill censer. The lid forms a miniature sacred mountain, home to the Daoist immortals who were believed to dwell on distant islands in the Eastern Sea. When incense was burned inside, the smoke rose through the mountain’s openings, appearing as mist among its peaks. Used in ritual practice, such censers turned the act of burning incense into a vision of paradise itself—a fleeting, scented bridge between the human and divine realms.
Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)
Zhou Dynasty (1045-222 BCE), 900 BCE
Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Tang Dynasty (618-907)
6th-7th century
20th Dynasty or later (1189–1077 BCE)
about 200 CE
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