1993 PAEKCHE GREAT GILT-BRONZE INCENSE BURNER REPLICA For Sale

This a HTF replica of the original ornate incense burner, designated as 287, was recovered from a temple site in Neungsan-ri, Buyeo. It would once have been placed on a Buddhist altar to offer incense to Buddha. The pedestal is shaped like a dragon with its front legs extended, while the bowl and lid of the incense burner combine to form an enlarged lotus bud, elaborately adorned with mountain peaks, musicians, and sacred animals, with a noble phoenix perched at the top.The lid of the incense burner is shaped like ascending levels of mountains, topped by a phoenix that stands on a jewel-shaped knob with its wings spread wide. The mountains are intended to represent Boshan, a mythical peak where immortals dwell for eternity. Boshan, which actually encompasses three sacred mountains—Penglaishan (蓬萊山), Fangzhangshan (方丈山), and Yingzhoushan (瀛洲山)—was believed to be located in the sea to the east of China.The mountains are occupied by a menagerie of animals, including a tiger, boar, deer, elephant, and monkey, along with various imaginary creatures. Moreover, sixteen different people can be found doing various activities, such as strolling around the mountains, hunting on horseback, meditating, and fishing. The lower rim of the lid and the upper rim of the body are each decorated with a band containing an elaborate arabesque pattern, so that the two bands are symmetrically joined when the lid is in place.The bowl of the incense burner is made to resemble three rows of lotus petals with protruding tips. The sizes of the lotus petals are proportionate to the diameter of the bowl, so that the petals in the top row are the widest and those in the bottom row are the most narrow. Each petal is convexly folded at the tip and decorated with a densely incised design of slanted lines, while incised lines are used in the bottom row to imply multiple layers of petals. Each petal is decorated with a relief carving of a fish, a heavenly bird, or a heavenly animal, while smaller animals or people are also interspersed between the petals of the top row. In total, the bowl is decorated with two human figures (i.e., a musician playing a drum and someone riding an animal) and twenty-four animals, including a pair of intertwined birds in between lotus petals on the top layer.The pedestal of the incense burner is shaped like a dragon with a cloud-shaped openwork mane, dynamically crouched as if preparing to leap into flight. The dragon has a bifurcated horn that extends from the top of its nose to the back of its neck, and a mouthful of sharp teeth that are expressed in detail. A hollow rod that emerges from the dragon’s mouth connects the pedestal to the bowl of the incense burner. The base of the pedestal is formed by the coiled body of the dragon, along with openwork cloud and lotus flower designs that convey the illusion that the dragon is passing through waves on its way to the heavens.
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