Hanging Censer500 - 1000

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Islamic Art and Late Antiquity

Title: Hanging Censer
Culture: Coptic
Place Made: Eastern Mediterranean
Date Made: 500 - 1000
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Height without chain: 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); Width: 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Blaugrund
Accession Number: M.80.196.73
Classification: Metal
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Ancient
Curatorial Notes: Hanging censers such as this one, now missing its bottom, were used to burn incense. The crosses decorating the sides indicate its Christian context, while their specific shape, in which each of the four terminals ends in a tripartite form, perhaps ties the object to the Coptic faith, which traces its origins to first-century Egypt. Today, Copts represent the largest minority in Egypt and the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Likely predating the advent of Islam, this censer could have been made for a church or even a private chapel. The openwork container, in which the crosses alternate with fretwork outlining crosses, would have helped disseminate the perfume of the incense that burned on hot coals within.

2024

On view:

Geffen Galleries, Islamic Art and Late Antiquity

Title: Hanging Censer
Culture: Coptic
Place Made: Eastern Mediterranean
Date Made: 500 - 1000
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Height without chain: 3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm); Width: 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Blaugrund
Accession Number: M.80.196.73
Classification: Metal
Collecting Area: Art of the Middle East: Ancient
Curatorial Notes: Hanging censers such as this one, now missing its bottom, were used to burn incense. The crosses decorating the sides indicate its Christian context, while their specific shape, in which each of the four terminals ends in a tripartite form, perhaps ties the object to the Coptic faith, which traces its origins to first-century Egypt. Today, Copts represent the largest minority in Egypt and the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Likely predating the advent of Islam, this censer could have been made for a church or even a private chapel. The openwork container, in which the crosses alternate with fretwork outlining crosses, would have helped disseminate the perfume of the incense that burned on hot coals within.

2024