Incense burner (lu) with four legs

Archaic bronze vessels were prized not only as collectibles but also as usable items. One of the most common uses was as incense burners. The bottom of an appropriately shaped vessel was filled with sand on which the incense was placed. Lids with elaborate openings to channel and shape the smoke were often added. Incense did not come into common use in China until the late Warring States Period and early Han dynasty; therefore this use had nothing to do with the original function of earlier vessels. Incense burners became immensely popular and were one of the most common forms of functional archaistic vessels in jade.

The basic form for this example in gray jade does not have a Bronze Age prototype. Rather it seems to refer to vessels created during the Song dynasty. The same may be said of the decor; the body is plain except for cloud scroll patterns on the shoulders of the base and the elaborate dragon on the lid. Similar designs are found in ceramic, metal, and other decorative art materials from the reign of the Kangxi emperor.