Peacock-shaped Incense Burner | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum

Peacock-shaped Incense Burner, late 15th - mid 16th century

Indian

Brass

Overall: 11 3/4 × 7 3/4 × 7 1/2 inches (29.8 × 19.7 × 19.1 cm)

Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund

2022.1

On View

Islamic, Level 1, North

Department

Islamic Art

Bloomberg audio stops

Imagine this peacock animated by fragrant smoke wafting through the openings in its back, neck, and beak. Made to contain incense in its hollow body, it would have delighted the nose as much as its elegant plumage and finely engraved feathers enchant the eye. Most likely produced for a sultanate court in the Deccan region of southern India, this incense burner may have been displayed in a palace room or courtyard. For people in the Deccan sultanates, the scents emerging from this charming sculpture were not only enjoyable -- they were believed to nourish the mind, body, and soul. According to esoteric sciences practiced by some members of the courtly elite, pleasant fragrances could also affect supernatural beings, driving away evil spirits or attracting good ones. Cast in two parts that bisect the bird just below its outstretched wings and with a hinge below the tail to facilitate opening, the burner is marked by soot deposits that attest to its history of use. A curved handle connected to a stand was once likely attached to the back, just below the hinge, to provide stability.

1971-76, purchased by Anthony Jack (London, UK)

1976, consigned to (Spink and Son, London, UK)

1976, purchased by Bashir Mohamed (London, UK)

2021, consigned to (Prahlad Bubbar, London, UK)

2022-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India. London, 1997, p. 94, (pl. 87). Michell, George, Mark Zebrowski. Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates, The New Cambridge History of India 1.7. New York, 1999, p. 234 (fig. 172). Haidar, Navina Najat, Marika Sardar, et al. Sultans of Deccan India 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy. New York, 2015, pp. 206–7, cat. no. 100. Bubbar, Prahlad. Sublime Form. Exh. cat., Frieze Masters. London, 2021, cat. no. 11 (n.p.). Cole, Alison, Luke Syson. “Obscure objects of desire: five of the best works in Frieze Masters’ new Stand Out section.” Art Newspaper. Accessed on October 14, 2021. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/10/14/obscure-objects-of-desire.

Indian, Peacock-shaped Incense Burner, late 15th - mid 16th century, brass. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, 2022.1.