Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (백제금동대향로)

Standing 61.8 cm tall and weighing nearly 12 kg, the Gilt-bronze Incense Burner of Baekje (백제금동대향로) is widely considered a masterwork of ancient East Asian metal art. 🪷✨ ​Discovered in 1993 in Buyeo, South Korea, this 6th-century treasure blends Buddhist and Taoist symbolism into a single masterpiece: 🐉 The Base: A powerful dragon coiling upward, supporting the stem. 🪷 The Body: A blossoming lotus flower representing purity. ⛰️ The Lid: A mythical mountain landscape carved with 74 peaks, featuring musicians, animals, and imaginary creatures. 🦚 The Top: A soaring phoenix holding a magical pearl under its chin. ​When lit, incense smoke filters through subtle holes hidden within the mountain peaks, making it look as if real mist is drifting over a sacred mountain range. 🏛️🇰🇷 You can visit the Buyeo National Museum(국립부여박물관) to see this masterpiece.