The shape of this temple incense burner is based on an ancient bronze original. It is covered with the rich, unctuous celadon glaze produced in the kilns at Longquan in Southern China during the Song period. Chinese ware was highly regarded in Japan, where many examples still remain in Japanese collections. The soft grey-blue-green glaze is known by the Japanese name kinuta. The silver cover suggests that this piece, too, once formed part of a Japanese collection.