Chinese incense culture(香学)
Song Dynasty · Porcelain Censer and Incense Seal
Song Dynasty literati prized elegance and purity, and porcelain censers and sealed incense flourished.
Song Dynasty · Porcelain Censer and Incense Seal
Porcelain Incense Censer
Longquan li-style censers, Ru ware lian-style censers, and Guan ware gui-style censers, with plain surfaces and small feet, are the foremost vessels for the scholar's studio; burning a single piece of agarwood is enough.
Incense Seal (Sealed Incense)
Incense powder is pressed with a seal mold into continuous patterns, and time is measured by burn-degree markings; the 'hundred-mark incense' refers to this. Also used as a refined offering.
Incense Box · Incense Tray · Indirect Fire Heating
Porcelain and lacquer incense boxes hold pellets and cakes, incense trays catch ash; indirect fire heating (mica sheet separating the fire) makes the incense warm and moist without scorching—the height of Song connoisseurship of incense.