Incense Burner
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Al-Fudayn, an Umayyad residence located on trade routes joining cities such as Gerasa (Jerash) with the Arabian Peninsula, belonged to the exceptionally wealthy great grandson of the third Orthodox caliph ‘Uthman ibin ‘Afan. It was destroyed in the early ninth century, when a subsequent owner opposed the Abbasids. These luxury goods were found together and were perhaps hidden at that time.
The inhabited scrolls and form of this incense burner are in the Byzantine tradition. Once attributed to Coptic Egypt, works such as this one have recently been re-dated to the early Islamic period on the basis of archaeological finds like those at al-Fudayn.
The inhabited scrolls and form of this incense burner are in the Byzantine tradition. Once attributed to Coptic Egypt, works such as this one have recently been re-dated to the early Islamic period on the basis of archaeological finds like those at al-Fudayn.
Artwork Details
- Title: Incense Burner
- Date: 8th century
- Geography: Made in Eastern Mediterranean, excavated at al-Fudayn (Mafraq), Jordan
- Medium: Cast copper alloy, openwork
- Dimensions: 2 9/16 x 4 3/4 in. (6.5 x 12 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork
- Credit Line: Jordan Archaeological Museum, Amman (J. 15710)
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters