Standing incense burner

Standing incense burner, spherical, two-part, on round, profiled foot, short shaft, decorated with metal "cabochons" and rhythmically repeating geometrical ornament and a dragon motif. The upper part - the lid - is topped with a small, openwork lantern, finished with a conical peak with a ring for hanging. Both parts closed with three bolts screwed into semicircular grooves. An incense burner is a vessel designed to burn incense or perfume in solid form. These vessels in different cultures or countries differed significantly in size, form and in construction material. They were typically used in secular as well as in sacral settings since ancient times. They were used to purify the air of pathogens in case of an epidemiological emergency, to perfume rooms during feasts or ceremonies, and even to measure time during rituals and ceremonies - the progress of burning cone incense was measured then. The incense is burned by putting it directly on a heat source or on a hot metal plate in an incense burner. Small concave charcoal briquettes were sold for domestic use. One would light a corner of a briquette and then place it in the incense burner and extinguish the flame. After the glowing sparks passed throughout the briquette, it was ready for an incense to be placed on it. This incense burner is from Vietnam and dates to the 19th century.