Louis XVI Neoclassical Ivory Ceramic & Brass Incense Burner with Swagged Garland Mounts

Design & Inspiration

Place this piece on a console, a mantelpiece, or a reception table and it immediately commands the space around it. The urn form — tapering from a wide gilt rim to a narrow waist before flaring into a ribbed ceramic bell — is the unmistakable silhouette of Louis XVI Neoclassical design, the era in which French decorative arts turned away from Rococo asymmetry and rediscovered the ordered beauty of classical antiquity. This incense burner faithfully reproduces that vocabulary: the vertical fluted ribs on the ivory ceramic body, the swagged laurel-and-flower garland cast in gilded brass that drapes between four upright pilasters, and the pierced acanthus gallery that encircles the base like a crown.

Materials & Craftsmanship

The body is formed in ivory-toned ceramic, its surface gently ribbed to catch light at different angles throughout the day — a detail borrowed directly from the turned column shafts that Louis XVI cabinetmakers used on their bonheur-du-jour writing tables. The brass fittings are cast and hand-finished: the rim carries a continuous running frieze of foliate ornament, while four pine-cone finials — a Neoclassical symbol of fertility and eternal life — stand sentinel at the rim's corners. The lid is pierced with a grid pattern to allow fragrance to diffuse evenly, and a lily-blossom final crowns the top. The tripod base is the most technically accomplished element: three scrolled acanthus legs support a cylindrical pierced gallery of roses and foliage, the whole cast and hand-chased to a warm gilt finish. A small heating chamber nestled between the tripod legs and the ceramic bell allows for use with both resin incense and bukhoor chips.

Dimensions & Details

Weight: 4.0 kg. Dimensions: N/A — please contact us for exact dimensions. Available in multiple brass finishes: Gold, Antique Gold, and Silver. Ivory ceramic body. Brass fittings. Minimal assembly required (tripod base attaches to the ceramic bell). Fragile — ships in reinforced protective packaging.

Handcrafted in Egypt

Every piece is produced in Brass & Wood's Egyptian workshops, where craftsmen trained in European classical decorative traditions hand-finish each brass component and inspect the ceramic body for consistency of tone and surface. The result is an incense burner that works as a decorative object even when not in use — its form and finish designed to hold their own against the finest European originals that inspired them.

Frequently Asked Questions

What materials is this incense burner made from?

The body is ivory-toned ceramic. All mounts, the rim, finials, lid, and tripod base are cast brass with a hand-applied gilded finish. Available in Gold, Antique Gold, and Silver brass finishes.

Is assembly required?

Minimal assembly is required — the pierced brass tripod base attaches to the ceramic bell section. No tools are needed and the process takes under two minutes.

Can this incense burner be customized?

Yes. Brass & Wood offers customization of the brass finish (Gold, Antique Gold, Silver) and can accommodate special commissions. Contact our team for details.