This archaic censer with flanged legs was made as an item for the scholar's desk. Featuring incised and applied decorations, it copies the form of the late Shang (c.1600-1027 BCE) bronze tripod ding or incense burner favoured by the literati and elite. The Chinese literati valued beauty that was inspired by nature, and this preference was vividly reflected in the objects they chose for their studios. The censer was used to hold possibly rocks or pebbles or burn incense while they worked.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.
