Incense Burner

Incense Burner

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Burning incense was a fashionable pastime among scholars and merchants in southeast China in the late Ming and early Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. Many of the incense burners produced during this time copied shapes from contemporaneous ceramics, while other relied on bronze forms, some of which can be traced to China’s earliest metalworking traditions. Great skill was employed in finishing the surfaces of these bronzes, which can show patinations ranging from red to green to brown with gold splashes.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.