Censer from 2,000 years ago a prized collection of Hebei Museum

The bronze censer from the collection of the Hebei Museum is ingeniously designed. Once the incense is burnt, the smoke will waft from the holes in the mount-shape lid. Designs include three dragons emerging from the sea and beasts roaming in the mountain.

Inlaid with gold lines, the censer shows advanced craftsmanship, and reflects ancient Chinese people’s aspirations for the land of immortals described in mythologies. Worship of sacred mountains prevailed in ancient China. Burning incense was popular among aristocrats and ordinary people.

The censer was excavated from the tomb of Liu Sheng, a king of the Zhongshan State dating to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24).