Name of Object:

Incense burner

Location:

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museums

 About Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museums, Glasgow

Date of Object:

Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century

Museum Inventory Number:

1877.10.d

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Earthenware, with perforated decoration.

Dimensions:

Height (with lid) 23 cm, width (including handles) 20 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Algeria.

Description:

An unusual incense burner made of earthenware. It has been thrown on a wheel and is perforated with leaf-shaped cut-outs in order to aid air circulation and maximum dissemination of the incense. The main body is divided in half by a perforated strainer-type horizontal partition where the burning incense would be placed. The vessel has a high lid that is also perforated, as is the lower part of the body, further increasing air circulation throughout the vessel. There are four handles on the axis of the main body, indicating that this incense burner would have been elevated, either hung from the ceiling or some other high place.

View Short Description

Incense has held a special position in most if not all Islamic cultures, and has been mainly used to perfume interior spaces such as private rooms, mosques, shrines and religious schools. Vessels of all shapes and sizes, like this pottery burner, have been made to hold and burn incense.

How date and origin were established:

Stylistic analysis: the object was collected by the donor from Algeria along with other similar Ottoman ceramics.

How Object was obtained:

Donated to the Museum in 1877.

How provenance was established:

The object was collected by the donor from Algeria along with other similar Ottoman ceramics.

Citation of this web page:

Noorah Al-Gailani "Incense burner" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus04;45;en

Prepared by: Noorah Al-Gailani
Copyedited by: Mandi Gomez


MWNF Working Number: UK4 49