A Persian Incense Burner of the Twelfth Century

The Fragrance of the Divine: Ottoman Incense Burners and Their Context

“…Up to now, Islamic censers have attracted attention only in a rather sporadic fashion, published in short articles and entries in exhibition or collection catalogs, which focus on formal and stylistic characteristics, dating, provenance, and/ or metallurgical analysis. 2 The historical background from which these objects emerged, the timing and place of their use, and their significance have barely received consideration. These objects can be contextualized not only within an olfactory tradition of the Islamic world-something that Ernst K€ uhnel, Mehmet Aga-Oglu, and Eva Baer have done in limited fashion 3 -but also in relation to the religious settings in which they could be found.…”