Xuande Furnace

The Xuande furnace, with two ears, can be used for incense burning. Supports are added, suitable for a tea room. It is recommended to print with copper material.

The Xuande furnace, also known as the "Xuan furnace," was a copper incense burner designed and supervised by Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Zhanji, in the third year of the Xuande era. It was the first time in Chinese history that copperware was cast using windmill copper.

In order to produce exquisite copper furnaces, under Zhu Zhanji's personal supervision, the entire production process, including copper smelting and shaping, was strictly controlled. Shapes were carefully selected from ancient texts like the "Xuanhe Bogutu" and "Archaeological Diagrams", as well as hundreds of Song and Yuan dynasty porcelain pieces from the inner palace collection. Only those shapes deemed appropriate for their intended use and with elegant design were chosen. These shapes were then drawn into patterns and presented to Zhu Zhanji for his review. He was also given explanations about the origins of the designs and the relevant historical anecdotes. After careful selection, physical samples were cast and presented to him for approval. Only when he was satisfied with the samples was mass production allowed.