Gondola-shaped terracotta incense burner with Tao

Practical handcrafted terracotta incense holder, handmade by skilled Indonesian artisans.

Square incense holder, embellished with eggshell decorations, light-colored rattan threads, and a central Tao design.

They add a pleasant ethnic touch to any room.

Dimensions: 11.5 x 11.5 cm

Material: Terracotta

Tao in Chinese means way. In Eastern philosophies, the symbol of Tao, also known as yin and yang, represents the path, the becoming of all things, which is realized through a movement that oscillates between two extremes: every time one of the two is reached, a force pushes in the opposite direction, and so on.

The theory was undoubtedly suggested by the movements of the sun and the moon, the alternation of the seasons, the cyclical flow of time. The two halves into which the circular symbol is divided therefore represent two principles that are opposite and complementary at the same time: the feminine and the masculine, cold and hot, darkness and light.

At a certain point, in being, two polarities of different signs are formed that represent the fundamental principles of the universe, present in nature: Ying, the negative, cold, moon, feminine principle, etc., represent black. Yang, the positive, hot, sun, masculine principle, etc., represent white.

The Taoist purpose is to understand this evolution and the subsequent ones and to return, through meditation and the right practice of life, to approach the initial unity of the Tao, the ultimate goal is to bring the disciple, the practitioner, and the student, to a complete state of unification with the universe, with the Tao therefore. All life emerges from Wuji, unconsciously. Through Taoist practices it is therefore possible to achieve immortality (called xian) and return to the state of Wuji, pure energy, dissolving into the one, therefore into the Tao.