Incense Burner
Incense burner made of brass sheet which has been hammered and pierced with chisels then chased and inlaid with silver, with images of the planets within roundels

Aromatics were prized in the Medieval Islamic world for ceremonial and personal use, and finely inlaid incense burners were used by courtiers and wealthy patrons. This piece comprises interlocking hemispheres featuring the sun surrounded by personifications of the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. References to astronomy and the related, popular practice of astrology were customary decorative themes.

Originally this incense burner contained a small central cup (gimbal) to keep the fragrance and the coal heating it level. Incense burners came in different sizes and could be suspended from chains, held in the hand, or rolled across the floor from one person to another. This is one of the earliest incense burners known, and possibly the smallest.
This spherical incense burner is decorated with tiny images of the planets (six, including the moon) around the sun. It was originally fitted with a small bowl set within gimbals. The gimbals kept the burning incense from spilling when the ball was rolled from guest to guest on festive occasions

Information not yet known or updated

Islamic Metalwork Touring Highlights Exhibition, Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro, 27/09/2019-12/01/2020; Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, 18/01/2020-20/09/2020; Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford, 10/09/2020-10/01/2021; Holburne Museum, Bath, 17/05/2021-01/08/2021