Incense Burner

100s BC

Incense Burner, 100s BC. Italy, Etruscan, 2nd Century BC. Bronze; overall: 61 cm (24 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1952.96 Both elaborate and functional, the Etruscan thymiaterion, or incense burner, typically comprises at least three main parts—tripod stand, shaft, and, at the top, a shallow bowl for incense. Often, a figural support is incorporated, here in the form of a youthful male nude, perhaps the wine god Dionysos. Below him, the tripod stand features cloven hoofs, while above him a spotted cat or panther climbs toward a rooster or other crested bird. Holes in each corner of the square upper plate likely held additional animals or other ornaments. The circular depression on the top of this object likely held incense.