Incense Burner

Any container, often of bronze or pottery and fitted with a perforated lid, in which incense is burnt. The burning of incense as part of ritual life was a widespread practice in Mesoamerica, from as early as the Pre-Classic Period, as well as in Europe and the East. In Mesoamerica, there is considerable variety in form, from the simple small candelero (Teotihuacan) to the highly elaborate incensarios of Palenque and Mayapan. Copal, the Maya word for pine-resin, was widely traded as incense; it appears in the Aztec tribute lists in the Codex Mendoza. In China during the Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), a type of vessel known as a hill censer was used. Incense burners of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) were made in two basic forms: a square vessel on four feet, fitted with two handles and a pierced lid, and a circular tripod vessel, also fitted with a perforated lid.

The burning of incense as part of ritual life was a widespread practice in Mesoamerica, from as early as the PreClassic Period. Depictions of its use have been found on stelae dating to the Mira-flores phase at KAMiNALJUYU,and paraphernalia connected with its use have been found in some quantity at many major sites. Usually made from stone or ceramic, there is considerable variety in form, from the simple small candelero (found literally in hundreds at Teotihuacan) to the highly elaborate incensarios of Palenque and Ma yapan. Copal, the Maya word for pineresin, was widely traded as incense; it appears in the Aztec tribute lists in the Codex Mendoza. Incense burners also occur in other parts of the world and sometimes vessels of uncertain function have been thought to be associated with the use of incense. For instance, small pots of specialized shapes found in graves of the Wessex culture in southern England have sometimes been called ‘incense cups’.