DESCRIPTION: An engraved Chinese pewter incense seal (or clock) with five separate components (see photos), all of which are intact and in good condition. The cover has four shaped edges engraved with Chinese characters and crowned by a delicately pierced brass lid with a “double happiness” symbol. The three tiered body has the original brass template inside the top compartment, used as a template for cutting the incense design. On the outside surfaces are hand engraved designs of flowers, garden settings, and rows of Chinese characters. On the base is the maker's mark plus writing and a sticker related to it's past history in China.
Beginning in about the eighth century and used for a period of more than twelve hundred years, the Chinese devised a method to measure time by burning incense. The incense would be ignited, and through the measure of its slow combustion rate, the passage of time could be determined with great accuracy. This is a fine example of the type of container used to hold the incense while it burned.
From a private collection and in good condition other than signs of usage, this incense seal was purchased in the mid 1970's in Hong Kong when the Chinese government was releasing confiscated items from their warehouses. For an informative article on incense clocks, see “Arts of Asia,” March-April 1995. DIMENSIONS: 4 ¼” high (10.8 cm) x 3 1/8” square (8 cm).
Price: $995 Stock #LVBB6
