Incense burners
An incense burner is any type of vessel used for burning incense, herbs, wood and other substances to purify the surrounding. The vessels differ greatly in size, shape and the material used to make these vessels. Incense burners are sometimes designed or carved out of gold or silver to simple earthenware bowls or fire pots. These vessels vary in size from one culture to another from table top objects a few centimeters tall to several meters high. The design and decoration of these incense burners greatly differ from one culture to another.
In many cultures incense is burnt while performing any holy ritual. It is used to offer pleasant air to the God and Goddess, to bring positive energy in life, to relax the senses and to contain and concentrate power. The incense burner is taken around all the rooms of the house to purify the place.
Today the incense burners used by different cultures are very popular for there marvelous design and decoration.
Different types of incense burners to name a few:
Bottle Incense Burner
This is made from a glass bottle. Whether the incense is used for holy rituals, to add fragrance to the house or for aromatherapy, we are always left with the cleaning of the burned ashes of the incense. A bottle incense burner keeps all the ashes inside the bottle and by allowing stick incense to burn inside a specially designed bottle. When the incense burns the ashes are collected inside the bottle while the fragrant smoke is released from the small holes into the bottle. Once the incense has burned, the ashes left in the bottle can be emptied into a trash.
Brass incense burners/Bronze incense burner
Brass and bronze incense burner features a high shine finish. The bright decorative artwork done on them acts as a great decor to any space with its warm shine. They come in different art forms like ethnic designs, traditional engravings and floral patterns and act as perfect gift items.
Buddha incense burner
Founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama, is famously known as Buddha. A soothsayer had predicted at his birth that he would become a world ruler or teacher. He went on to become one of the greatest spiritual teacher with followers all around the world.
According to the beliefs of Buddhism, lighting incense is a sign of respect for the Buddha and assists in focusing the mind for meditation. People use Buddha incense burner for this purpose.
Buddha sits on top of the incense burner with symbols of peace and prosperity around the burner. Buddha incense burner holders are used in almost all Buddhist temples. Buddha incense burners are used across many Asian cultures during ceremonies and rituals in homage to the enlightened one.
Ceramic incense burners
Another very popular style of incense burners are the ceramic burners. These burners are ideally used for burning the incense or your favourite essential oils. Ceramic incense burners are decorated with images and calligraphy like the Om sign or the circular Yin Yang. They also make a great gift.
Charcoal incense burner
To get a greater amount of flexibility and customization in your selection of ingredients, you can burn loose incense on charcoal briquettes. This way you can burn a burn a single element in a loose powdered form, purchase an incense blend or mix your own combination of herbs, resins and essential oils.
Chinese incense burner
Chinese incense burners resemble a metal or stone dish and stand on small legs. The design of Chinese incense burners are mainly influenced by religious images, such as the Buddha, laughing Buddha or Chinese gods and many times dragons. Many people light incense burner holders in spiritual places, such as altars, temples and sacred places and pray while they are lit.