Collection Online as of June 4, 2023

Incense Burner (Boshan Lu)

China, Western Han dynasty

(202 BC-AD 9)

Bronze

Diameter: 9.9 cm (3 7/8 in.); Overall: 18.4 cm (7 1/4 in.); Lid: 7.8 x 9.1 cm (3 1/16 x 3 9/16 in.); Container: 11.3 cm (4 7/16 in.)

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1986.46.b

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Deities (appearing as hunters) and fantastic beasts roam freely among mists and clouds on this incense burner.

Description

The conical cover of this incense burner represents a miniature mountain with hunting scenes. The cover was shrouded in mist and emanated intoxicating smoke through its openwork when fragrant woods and herbs were burnt in its stem cup, transporting its beholder into an imaginative realm.

Provenance

?-1986

(Howard Rogers, Kamakura, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1986-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 74, no. 2, 1987, pp. 38–79. Mentioned: p. 77, no. 218 www.jstor.org

Delacour, Catherine. La Voie du Tao: un Autre Chemin de L'être : Galeries Nationales, Grand Palais, 29 Mars-5 Juillet 2010. Paris: Reunion des Musees Nationaux, 2010. Mentioned: p. 180; Reproduced: p. 181, cat.29.1

Exhibition history

CMA 1987: "Year in Review 1986," Bull., 74 (Feb. 1987), p. 77, no. 218

RMN/Musée Guimet (organizers). Galeries Pu Grand Palais, Paris (3/29/2010 - 7/5/2010): "La voie du Tao, un autre chemin de l'Etre", ex. cat. no. 29.1, p. 180-181.

Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).

La voie du Tao, un autre chemin de l'Etre. Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, 75008 Paris, France (March 29-July 5, 2010).

China through the Magnifying Glass: Masterpieces in Miniature and Detail. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 11, 2022-February 26, 2023).