Collection record · Objects & craft
Feline Incense Burner
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated 1150–1200. Recorded culture or place: Iran, Khurasan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037–1194).
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Feline Incense Burner
- Date
- 1150–1200
- Culture / origin
- Iran, Khurasan, Seljuq period of Iran (1037–1194)
- Materials and technique
- Copper alloy, cast, engraved, chased, and pierced
- Dimensions
- Overall: 35.5 x 11 x 32.5 cm (14 x 4 5/16 x 12 13/16 in.); Head: 17.8 x 9.5 x 12.5 cm (7 x 3 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1948.308
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
In Iran during the 1000s and 1100s, vessels in the shape of animals gained popularity, especially as incense burners. Felines were favored in Persian art and this piece may represent a caracal, a type of lynx. The head of the creature was cast separately and is removable to fill its body with hot coals and incense. Qur’anic verses on the neck and spine remind worshippers to set work aside, attend prayer, and then disperse to seek God’s bounty. The diffusion of perfumed smoke through the burner’s pierced palmette design may have served as a sensorial reminder of this teaching.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · John L. Severance Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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