6th-7th century AD. A bronze censer with bulbous body resting on a flared foot; three suspension loops to the rim; band with incised floral design to the neck and foot, rosette to the underside of the foot; to the body, high relief vignettes from the life of Christ depicting: the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Baptism, the Crucifixion and the Women at the Tomb. This is an unusual type of censer, part of a group of approximately one hundred of this type known in Museums and private collections; cf. The Fogg Museum, Harvard Art Museums, 1975.41.140; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 67.27 for type; Exhibition catalogue, Sinai, Byzantium, Russia: Orthodox Art from the 6th-12th Century, Hermitage Museum and Courtauld Gallery, 2000, no.B35a; also R. Baumstark, Rom and Byzanz. Schatzkammerstucke aus bayerischen Sammulugen, Munich, 19998, no.30; and Exhibition catalogue, Cradle of Christianity, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, p.44. 630 grams, 9.5cm (3 3/4"). Property of a gentleman; from a Mayfair, London, UK, gallery. In the Byzantine world, censers were used to burn incense in both domestic contexts to purify the home, protecting it from malevolent forces, and in liturgical ceremonies. Censers depicting scenes from the life of Christ have been found across the Byzantine world in Egypt, Syria and Turkey. This censer could have been used within liturgical ceremonies or for worship within a family home. Fine condition.