The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Incense Burner

Incense Burner

100s BCE
bronze
Overall: 61 cm (24 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1952.96
Location: 102D Pre-Roman

Did You Know?

The circular depression on the top of this object likely held incense.

Description

Both elaborate and functional, the Etruscan thymiaterion, or incense burner, typically comprises at least three main parts—tripod stand, shaft, and, at the top, a shallow bowl for incense. Often, a figural support is incorporated, here in the form of a youthful male nude, perhaps the wine god Dionysos. Below him, the tripod stand features cloven hoofs, while above him a spotted cat or panther climbs toward a rooster or other crested bird. Holes in each corner of the square upper plate likely held additional animals or other ornaments.
  • Count de Sarzana
    Count de Sarzana
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 23 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 23 archive.org
    Cooney, John D. “A Miscellany of Ancient Bronzes.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 58, no. 7 (1971): 210–18. Fig. 12. www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 26 archive.org
    Ambrosini, L. Thymiateria etruschi in bronzo: di età tardo classica, alto e medio ellenistica. Roma: L'erma di Bretschneider, 2002. P. 216, no. 37, Tav. X.
  • Art and Humanism in the Renaissance. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 23-February 25, 1962).
  • {{cite web|title=Incense Burner|url=false|author=|year=100s BCE|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.96