It was fashionable to possess an incense set from the Yuan Dynasty onwards, developing from a set of 'one censer, two vases' during the Yuan period to a garniture comprising a 'burner, vase and box' during the Ming period. These presented an opportunity for craftsmen in all media to express themselves. Most frequently found in porcelain and bronze, it is relatively rare to find complete sets in cloisonne enamel. A 19th Century set from the Clague Collection decorated with Arabic inscriptions, is illustrated in the Catalogue, p.164, pl.77. For a more similar censer from the Pierre Uldry Collection, cf. Daily Life in the Forbidden City, p.126, no.245. For examples in all media, cf. the Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, Catalogue, p.227-235, figs.82-89.

Brinker and Lutz, Chinese Cloisonne: The Pierre Uldry Collection, p.74, discuss the significance of the fifth character which occasionally, as in the present example, makes an appearance below a Qianlong four-character mark. Its exact significance is obscure. Sometimes it is simply a number between one and five. Alternatively it can define the use and category of the vessel, as is likely in the present example and in addition it probably carries a reverential and auspicious meaning