Volta
CultureLate 6th century

Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje

Also called: Baekje Great Incense Burner

A Baekje censer found in 1993 at a temple site in Neungsan-ri, Buyeo — held up by a dragon and crowned by a phoenix, its lid carved with an immortals’ paradise.

Gilt-bronze incense burner of Baekje — held by a dragon and crowned by a phoenix
Gilt-bronze incense burner of Baekje — held by a dragon and crowned by a phoenix

국립중앙박물관 / National Museum of Korea · KOGL Type 1 · Source

It was found almost intact in 1993, buried in mud in a water pit at a temple site beside the Neungsan-ri tombs in Buyeo. The body is a lotus bud held in a dragon’s mouth, and a phoenix with spread wings perches on top. The lid is a landscape of layered peaks inhabited by immortals, five musicians and many animals.

The lotus stands for Buddhism and the mountain paradise for Daoism, so the burner shows both Baekje thought and its superb metalwork. It is thought to have served royal rites in the Sabi period. It is a National Treasure in Buyeo National Museum.

Show on the map

The map in AD 570

Open the full map

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

States and rulers at the time
Baekje — King Wideok

Before and after

Earlier
AD 552 Baekje Brings Buddhism to Wa
Later
AD 576 Hwarang Made a State Institution; Five Precepts for Secular Life

Themes that include this event

  • Crafts and MetalworkAD 346 – 1392

    From the Seven-Branched Sword to mother-of-pearl lacquer — Three Kingdoms crowns, censers and daggers, the great bell of Unified Silla, Goryeo silver inlay and najeon

  • Buyeo2000 BC – 1376

    From the Songguk-ri village to Sabi, Baekje’s last capital — the Geum River town where Baekje culture bloomed and fell