Jun-ware censer

Jun-ware censer, used for the burning of incense, with lavender-blue glaze. The censer has animal-shaped handles and an inscription that reads "One censer made by the Lesser Song on the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the year Jiyou". Around the neck are three qilin ("griffins") moulded in relief. The piece is supported by three small animal-design legs.

The censer was probably manufactured in the Junzhou kilns in the modern-day Henan Province in the late 11th century for the Northern Song dynasty. In 1129 the inscription was added when it was offered to the Jin conquerors who subsequently carried it north into Inner Mongolia.

GENGHIS KHAN: TREASURES OF INNER MONGOLIA was organized and circulated by the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Credits Photographer: Kong Qun. Source: Collection of the Inner Mongolia Museum, Huhehaote

Caption source: Adam T. Kessler (1994) Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Adapted from pp. 133-134.

Image source: Photo CD 6315 3021 1433, Image # 001