HAN DYNASTY (206 BC-AD 220)

A very similar gilt-bronze censer and cover from the tomb complex of the prince of Qi (Liu Fei, d. 188 BC) is illustrated by Zhixian Jason Sun in Age of Empires: Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2017, p. 152, no. 74, where it is noted, “exotic incense imported via the Silk Road into China became one of the most expensive and profitable goods of the Han period. The elite owners of incense burners such as this one would have demanded elaborate craftsmanship and expensive materials to demonstrate their wealth and taste.”