Black Brass Tripod Incense Censer

A three-legged brass censer, black outside, bright within.

The shape is the old one, a round belly on three feet with two upright ears, the form Chinese households have burned incense in since the Ming. The black finish stops at the rim, where the brass is left polished, so the light sits on the edge and the smoke rises out of a dark centre.

Two small brass holders come with it, a gourd for a single stick or a coil, and a nine-hole block for three at a time.

Made for a tea table, an ancestral altar, or the corner where the day is closed with one stick.