Incense Burner in the Form of a Tiger

CulturePersian

Datelate 12th century

MediumCopper alloy

DimensionsOverall: 11 5/8 × 3 × 11 7/8 inches (29.53 × 7.62 × 30.16 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number51-5

On View

Not on view

Collections

South and Southeast Asian Art

Terms

Exhibition History

Islamic Art Across the World, Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, June 18-October 1, 1970, no. 158 as Incense Burner in the Form of a Lion.

Gallery Label

This large bronze sculpture in the form of a lion was used as an incense burner. The perforated arabesques on the neck and the body, the pierced eyes and the open mouth allowed the heavy scents to escape and permeate the air. Treasured objects from the Near East such as this incense burner frequently served as inspiration for European bronze casters, as seen in the lion-shaped German aquamanile also shown in this case.

Provenance

H. Bensilum, by February 1947-1951 [1];

Purchased from Bensilum, through the dealer Adrienne Minassian (1913-1994), New York, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1951 [2].

NOTES:

[1] This incense burner was lent by Bensilum to the Exposition d'art Musulman, Musée Arabe, Cairo, February-March 1947, no. 86.

[2] Adrienne Minassian is the daughter of Kirkor Minassian (1883-1944), dealer in Islamic and Near Eastern antiquities with galleries located in New York and Paris and active between approximately 1900 and 1944.

Published References

“Masterpiece of the Month,” in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts Gallery News 19, no. 1 (January 1952), (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 246, (repro).

Theodore Bowe, Islamic Art Across the World, exh. cat. (Bloomington: Indiana University At Museum, 1970), 40, 68, fig. 158, (repro.).

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 2, Art of the Orient, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 154, (repro.).

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 401, (repro.).

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008), 25, fig. 6, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.