This is a handmade Chinese lacquer incense burner, finished in blue, black, and gold rhino skin lacquer (Xipi, 犀皮漆) on an ebony body with a brass mesh lid, from the Chong Series by HFDlacquerware (禾丰鼎). At 2.2" tall and 3.9" across, it works with both coil and stick incense, and the mesh lid lets the smoke rise clean. In the Chong Series (high relief), the groundwork is built up high before the lacquer goes on, so the pattern rises and falls like terraced fields. Each Chong Series piece takes two to three years to make. The pattern forms on its own, so no two burners come out alike, and the mirror-like surface deepens the more it is used. It makes a considered gift for someone who already has a tea table or study but hasn't found a burner worth keeping there. Light the incense, and the smoke rises above a blue that glows quietly against the black beneath it. The finish is smooth enough to hold your reflection, the same way a burning stick of incense, in its own way, lets you see yourself more clearly. Also in the Chong Series: see the Pedestal Incense Burners in Black & Gold and Red & Gold.