This porcelain censer or incense burner features a wide, flaring mouth with a decorative motif of moulded lion masks applied on the side.Censers were used for religious purposes in temples or at household altars, and also to decorate scholars' desk. They were regularly produced between the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) and exported to the European markets where they were used to hold plants.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
