Incense Boat

Incense boats were used to contain the incense used at church services and acquired their essential form, in the shape of a boat, between the late 14th and early 15th century.
This incense boat is in the form of a sailing ship with a realistically rendered hull, including gun ports above which sailors wearing traditional caps are visible in profile. The stern with poop rail and balustrades, flanked by two monumental lanterns, is marked with the letters IHS (the trigram of Christ) enclosed in a circular pearl design. Above this trigram is a Latin cross. The prow boasts a fanciful structure that supports a leonine figure head. The incense boat’s stand is assumed to be a remake, given its angular outline and lack of any decoration – the unornamented pear-shaped joint and bottlenecks recalls certain chalices from the 1600s.