This ivory white censer is made in the form and style of Chinese bronze ritual vessels. The elements on this vessel that are modelled on Chinese bronze prototypes include the sprig-moulded taotie (zoomorphic) mask handles. The censer is covered in an ash-glaze. Ash-glazes were the earliest to be developed by potters in China who accidentally discovered that when ash adhered to the pots during firing it formed a naturally shiny surface. They then experimented mixing ash with other ingredients to produce glazes. Early wood ash glazes were the foundation on which many other types of glazes were developed.
