Incense Burner
maker
Unknown
Dateearly 19th century
Place MadeChina, East Asia
MediumGlazed porcelain with enamel and gilding
Dimensions6.5 x 16 cm (2 9/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
ClassificationsVessels
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberC1s26.2
eMuseum ID717125
Original NumberC1s30-s
EmbARK ObjectID13133
TMS Source ID2140
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryProbably purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her travels through Asia in 1883-84, these three Islamic vessels were most likely made as ceremonial vessels for a mosque. Although probably created as a set in the 19th century, painted on the base of the incense burner is the stamp of Ta Ming Hsüan-tê nien chih, an Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. During the 19th century, it was not uncommon for Chinese ceramicists to include false dates from the Ming Dynasty on porcelain for foreign buyers.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 22.
Alex Eliopoulos, "Three Chinese Islamic Altar Vessels," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 13 April 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/three-chinese-islamic-altar-vessels
Alex Eliopoulos, "Three Chinese Islamic Altar Vessels," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 13 April 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/three-chinese-islamic-altar-vessels
MarksNotesInscribed (on side, inside panel in Arabic):محمد رسول الله [Muhammad rasul Allah ("Muhammad is the messenger of God/Allah")]
Inscribed (on side, inside panel in Arabic):افضل الذكر [afzal al-dhikr ("The best dhikr/remembrance" This is a reference to the shahada, which appears in the other two panels)]
Inscribed (on side, inside panel in Arabic): لا اله الا الله [la ilaha illa allah ("There is no god but God/Allah")]
Painted (on base): Ta Ming Hsüan-tê nien chih [Made in the reign of Hsüan-tê (1426-1435) of the Great Ming dynasty]
Inscribed (on side, inside panel in Arabic):افضل الذكر [afzal al-dhikr ("The best dhikr/remembrance" This is a reference to the shahada, which appears in the other two panels)]
Inscribed (on side, inside panel in Arabic): لا اله الا الله [la ilaha illa allah ("There is no god but God/Allah")]
Painted (on base): Ta Ming Hsüan-tê nien chih [Made in the reign of Hsüan-tê (1426-1435) of the Great Ming dynasty]
ProvenanceNotesEntered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by 1915.
