Incense burner with lion masks

White glaze porcelain, referred to as blanc-de-chine in the West, was produced in the 17th and 18th centuries in workshops in the vicinity of a town called Dehua in the southern Chinese Fujian province. One of the highest-quality types of porcelain, it is highly valued for its refined nature, smooth surface and perfect modelling. It was often used to render figures of Buddhist or Daoist deities or even Christian saints commissioned by European clients. This vessel is on the contrary inspired by traditional Chinese morphology. It imitates the ancient shape of an incense burner, adding lion masks to the sides of the body instead of the handles.