Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

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Censer

Bild aus CA-Sammlung Rauchfass

Bild aus CA-Sammlung Rauchfass

 In the possession of the priest-seminary foundation Freising, which is now supervised by the diocesan museum (museum of Christian Art) of the archbishopric of Munich, is a remarkable piece from the 12th century. The cast at Halle is the only one to have been located. It is a bronze vessel for holding and burning incense during the liturgy. It consists of two parts: a lower one, in which the burning process takes place, and an upper section, from where the smoke escapes. In its structure one part refers to the other. The lower part seems to be a chalice, but it has openings orbiting at its upper end which mark the basic form of a four-sided building with four straight and four round annexes. This basic form is erected in the upper section and finds its completion in a differentiated roof landscape. The question remains as to whether the outline of architecture refers to the Holy Jerusalem, in line with Theophilus Presbyter’s recommendation for the composition of censers in his document, „Schedula diversarum artium“?

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