"Dungkar" incense burner made of Tibetan black ceramic · CHARU × Saso

An elegant incense holder shaped like a dungkar, the Tibetan conch shell. It is one of the eight symbols of good fortune in Tibetan Buddhism and, according to tradition, represents the sound of the teachings.

The holder is shaped from blue-black clay and left unglazed: After being hand-formed and polished, the piece is air-dried and blackened with smoke—this creates the metallic sheen that characterizes Tibetan black pottery. Incense sticks up to 4 mm in diameter fit into the hole at the end, while incense cones fit into the open mouth. A flat plate made of the same ceramic is included to catch the ash.

This piece is crafted by Yang Genai, a sixth-generation practitioner of Meshu black pottery in Eastern Tibet. Saso is part of CHARU, which connects designers with craft cooperatives in the Tibetan cultural region to develop products that bring traditional techniques into everyday life.

Shell: Length 10 cm · Height 4 cm · Plate: 13.8 × 10.8 cm · Thickness 0.8 cm · Blue-black clay, hand-formed and smoke-blackened · For incense sticks up to ⌀ 4 mm and incense cones