White jade incense tube, Qing dynasty, 19th century

Hetian white jade carved incense tube with inscriptions. The shape is completely cylindrical, without facets, and the surface is engraved with a long text from the "Lectures on the Diamond Sutra" (金剛經講錄). Each of the lines has twenty characters, except for the last one which has fourteen. At the top is a lid, decorated with some geometric borders. The quality of the material and the carving are remarkable, moreover it is in very good condition.

The incense tubes "香筒" (xiāng tong) may be in the form of a scroll or column, decorated with elaborate reliefs, or sacred texts related to Buddhism. Decorative cords sometimes hang from them. Incense sticks are very ancient handicrafts and the complement of censers, which had a very important spiritual, purification and functional use in ancient China. 

Provenance: Important collection of Tommy Lam, Hong Kong, since 1980.

Size: 20,5 x 2,6 cm; Weight: 216 g