Chinese
Incense Burner, early 19th century
Glazed porcelain with enamel and gilding, 6.5 x 16 cm (2 9/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
Trifooted incense burner made of glazed porcelain with enamel and gilding. The body is dark blue and decorated with green leaves, yellow flowers, and pale blue spirals. Above each foot on the body of the object there are pink panels inscribed with black Arabic letters. The top of the rim is flat and features the same botannical detailing that is present on the body of the incense burner. The edges of the rim also display two rows of distinct decorative patterns. The row closest to the top of the lip has blue interlocking triangles that contain black stripes. The second row is embellished with a red and white meander pattern. The inside of the incense burner is white and the bottom of the object features a red box with white chinese letters inside. A tan and red tag with the number eighty-four written on it is also present on the bottom of the object.
Yellow Room
Commentary
Probably purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her travels through Asia in 1883-84, these three Islamic vessels were most likely made as ceremonial vessels for a mosque. Although probably created as a set in the 19th century, painted on the base of the incense burner is the stamp of Ta Ming Hsüan-tê nien chih, an Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. During the 19th century, it was not uncommon for Chinese ceramicists to include false dates from the Ming Dynasty on porcelain for foreign buyers.