Incense burner in the form of a lion

Unknown artist

15th century

Cast bronze

Fogg Museum

A bronze incense burner is shaped like a mythical creature with a lion-like head, horns, and a hollow body. It stands on four legs, with one foreleg raised and its tongue extended. This incense burner combines the Indian sculptural tradition and the Islamic tradition of zoomorphic incense burners. To judge from two similar objects which have survived, this one would have stood on a circular platform with its raised paw resting on the head of a small elephant. The lid, which would have covered its back, is also missing. The incense would have been placed in the lion's body, and perfumed smoke would have been released from the holes in its chest, resembling beads on necklaces, and through its mouth, around its movable tongue. Notes from the Glory and Prosperity exhibition, Feb - June 2002. Harvard Art Museums/Ar