Incense Burner (boshanlu)

CultureChinese

Datelate 2nd century B.C.E.

MediumBronze

DimensionsOverall: 9 1/2 inches (24.13 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number43-15

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

Exhibition History

International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935–36, no. 394.

Unearthing China’s Past, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, November 15, 1973–February 15, 1974, cat. 45.

Han Art: Expressions of Boldness, China House Gallery, New York, March 14 – May 27, 1979, cat. 29.

Sacred Mountains in Chinese Art, Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, IL, November 9–December 16, 1990; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, January 25–March 31, 1991, cat. 17.

Gallery Label

Burning incense dispersed odors, but it also produced qi, vital energy that promoted immortality. Incense burners were therefore often fashioned in the form of sacred mountains where Daoist immortals resided and refined their qi. This censer is remarkable for the semi-naked figure supporting the mountain. Since nakedness was rare in Chinese art, it is possible that this figure was inspired by Western mythological tales of Atlas supporting the heavens, which may have reached China along the Silk Road.

Provenance

With Mrs. Christian Holmes, New York, until 1941;

Purchased from the Estate of Mrs. Christian Holmes by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, through C. F. Yau (Yao), Tonying & Co., 1943.

Published References

Royal Academy of Arts, International Exhibition of Chinese Art, exh. cat. (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1935), no. 394.

Kantōkyoku, Ryojun hakubutsukan zuroku (Tokyo: Zauhō Kankōkai, 1943), pl. x17, fig. 8 (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): 176 (repro.).

Franco Russoli and Alberto Martini, Capolavori nei secoli: encyclopedia di tutte le arti di tutti I popoli in tutti I tempi (Milan, Fabbri, 1962), 266.

Mario Bussagli, Bronzi Cinesi (Milan: F. Ili Fabbri, 1966), 133, pl. 61 (repro.).

Jan Fontein and Tung Wu, Unearthing China’s Past, exh. cat. (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1974), 106, no. 45 (repro.).

Ezekiel Schloss, Arts of the Han, ext. cat. (New York: China House Gallery, 1979), 53, no 29 (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), 19 (repro.).

Kiyohiko Munakata, Sacred Mountains in Chinese Art (Champaign, Ill. : Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ; Urbana : University of Illinois Press, c1991), 72, cat. 17 (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), 281 (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), 301, cat. 58 (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.