Incense Burner with Knob Handles and Flambé Glaze
Dateabout 1800, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Mediumporcelain with a furnace transmutation glaze colored with copper and other metal oxides
Dimensions10.2 cm (4 in.)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1954.118
DescriptionFlambe style, perforated metal cover and teakwood stand. Inverted flower form with two small knob handles on shoulder. Cover pierced, bird motif, made in Japan. Mr. Plumer call this "Chinese".Label TextCommissioned by the imperial court in Beijing to copy the Jun ware glazes created during the Song, the potters at Jingdezhen experimented with hightemperature copper-red glazes. While not succeeding in reviving the opalescent blue, bubble-filled Jun ware glaze with its purple-red copper solution splashes (cf. 2008.47), the potters developed spectacular flambé glazes. These lead-containing furnace transmutation glazes began to be used from about 1729 onwards. As exemplified by this three-legged incense burner, the colors of thickly applied flambé glazes were dramatically transformed when fired at high temperatures. Due to low aluminum content, as well as the transmutation of colloidal copper, iron or other metallic materials into suffusions, flambé glazes turned blue, red, purple and even brownish-green. They also flowed, mixed, separated, streaked, mottled, bubbled and dripped, before finally smoothing into a glossy surface at the height of the firing. Vessels embellished with such striking glazes have popularly been called “Jingdezhen Juns.”ProvenanceWilder D. Bancroft, Ithaca, NY
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 112
Chinese
Qianlong period (1736–1795) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
South China
Qianlong period (1736–1795) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Chinese
12th or 13th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) or Southern song dynasty (1127–1279)
Chinese
Qianlong period (1736–1795) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Chinese
Qianlong period (1736–1795) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Chinese
Kangxi period (1662–1722) of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Chinese
12th or 13th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) or Southern song dynasty (1127–1279)
Chinese
11th or 12th century, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)