The Museum of the Ways of Gaudí Palace presents a censer from Destriana (León) as the ‘Piece of the Month’ for February 2024.
The appearance of portable censers is much later than the ritual itself, which was born with Christianity itself from its beginnings. Its shape has changed over time (pixid, globular, etc.), being this one from Destriana an example of imitation of late Gothic and Renaissance architectural structures. It is a work where we can observe an upper body (lid and top) of the late fifteenth century and a lower floor (body of smoke and brazier) of the early sixteenth century. It is therefore the result of the reuse of an old piece that a goldsmith probably from Asturias completed a few decades later.
Of circular foot, limited by baquetons, it has an upper body to seat the hemispherical bowl decorated with floral motifs. The cap consists of two superimposed hexagonal bodies, in the form of a turret or tower, with openwork windows for the smoke outlet, the lower ones inspired by Renaissance forms and the upper ones with late Gothic roots. It is topped with a crenellated cornice with abutments and pinnacles. The upper part is a profusely fretworked spire with a hexagonal plan and pyramidal shape. The chains and the manacle are decorated with an interesting embossed decoration.
The Gaudí Palace is open from Monday to Sunday from 10:30 am to 2:00 pm and in the afternoons from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm. The piece is on display on the second floor of the Palace and will be moved at the end of the month where it will remain on display until the end of the year, with the rest of the outstanding works.