Incense Cylinder, early 18th century, 7 1/8 x 2 7/8 in. ( x cm), Bamboo, China, 18th century, Carved from bamboo, this perforated cylinder held sticks of aromatic wood and functioned as an incense burner or perfumer. It displays a delicately carved group of literati with attendants in a pine and bamboo grove listening to qin music. Although bamboo and wood had been used in China since antiquity for functional items, their use for finely crafted decorative objects began only in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The plant's tremendous strength and ability to bend without breaking

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Size: 3274px × 5476px
Location:
Photo credit: © Penta Springs / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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