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Hemispherical half of incense burner of engraved brass inlaid
with silver and pierced
Late 15th to early 16th century
Metalworker
Mamluk, late 15th-early 16th Century
Formerly attributed to Veneto-Saracenic
Metalworked brass with silver inlay and later piercing
Diameter: 13.6 cm;
Acquisition (source, method, date)
Gambier-Parry, Mark; bequest; 1966
O.1966.GP.210
About this work
Mamluk incense burners became fashionable accessories of the wealthy in Renaissance Italy: Lorenzo de’ Medici owned three of them. Their prestige was enhanced by the burning of exotic imported aromatics such as aloes wood and ambergris. They were also used on the altars of draughty Northern cathedrals both to perfume the air and to warm the hands of the priests.
(Permanent collection label)
Copyright: © The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London
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