The 61.8 cm Great Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje is layered with a phoenix, mountain peaks, five musicians, sages, animals and plants. Seen up close, the vessel holds a miniature world.
A mountain-shaped lid
The lid rises as overlapping sacred peaks associated with a Daoist realm of immortals, with a phoenix at the summit. Small holes between the peaks let incense smoke escape.
Five musicians
Buyeo National Museum describes five musicians playing strings, pipes and a drum among sages, birds, animals and plants. The object brings Baekje aesthetics and several religious ideas together in one detailed form.
