香爐，是“香道”必備的器具，也是華人民俗、宗教、祭祀活動中必不可少的供具。歷代使用的香器包含博山爐、手爐、香斗、臥爐、香筒等不同形制的香爐，以及熏球、香插、香盤、香盒、香夾、香鏟、香匙、香筒及香囊等配套器具，使用的質料主要包括銅、陶瓷、金銀、竹木器、琺瑯及玉石等。其用途亦有多種，或熏衣﹑或陳設﹑或敬神供佛。
焚香，被賦予了很多超出實用范疇的儀式意義，在最初的時候它就被人們神圣化了。在幾個世紀的輾轉之中，焚香所用的器具香爐也隨著這種儀式，由遙不可及變成了文人把玩器物。香爐的價格一直處于一個穩步攀升的狀態，當然，各種材質之間的價格也有頗大差距。古瓷爐收藏的目標年代都集中在宋、元、明、清四朝。2010年12月香港佳士得拍出了一對清雍正的御制掐絲琺瑯雙鶴香爐，成交價是1.1億，這是目前為止國內拍賣中的香爐最高價。
一直以來，古瓷爐收藏的目標年代都集中在宋、元、明、清四朝，但宋元明清瓷爐各有不同。宋代之前，香爐作為我國古代傳統的實用器主要是用青銅和陶制成；漢代以后，香爐的材質逐漸豐富起來，尤其是在宋代，制瓷業蓬勃發展，名窯輩出，各種仿銅式瓷香爐紛紛問世。其中包括了鼎式香爐、鬲式香爐、奩式香爐（奩，音同“連”）、魚耳香爐、三足香爐等多種樣式。從此，以瓷為材質的瓷香爐逐漸取代了陶制和銅香爐，成為香爐的主流，并開始出現在大宋帝王的內庭，逐漸成了上層人士高雅的把玩之物。一時間，爐文化成為文人雅士的一種時尚，置爐和賞爐成為一種文人品位的體現，其獨特的文化特色使香爐成為當時代表新文化的典型器物，所以具有很高的藝術和收藏價值。
到了元、明、清，瓷爐逐漸由上流社會賞玩為主轉向用于祈神供祖為主，觀賞的功能也逐漸降為從屬地位，在器形和釉色上有了逐步的改變。元代瓷爐基本上是保留了宋代瓷爐風格，但在數量和品種上有所增長，以中小型香爐為主，器形以三足圓爐和鬲式爐較為多見；明代則出現了如象耳爐、戟耳爐、筒爐等新的造型，在色彩上，由單色釉變為以青花為主流裝飾，青花瓷成為主要工藝；到了清代，則以缽式爐為主。因此，簡而言之，宋元時期的瓷爐以青瓷香爐和窯變釉香爐為主，而明清時期則以青花香爐為主，紅釉香爐也較為常見。同時從元、明、清時代開始，瓷爐大量走入尋常百姓之家。除官窯外，民窯也廣泛制作，在民間，百姓都使用民窯生產的瓷爐用于燒香祈福。
乾隆御制的銅香爐被全世界收藏家視為最高端和精美的器物。而造成乾隆御制銅香爐的價格水漲船高的原因無非就是：在藝術品市場競爭日益激烈的今天，而銅器作為藝術品之中的佼佼者更加受人矚目。這樣一個精美絕倫的御制銅香爐，在乾隆時期足以反映中國封建時期的工藝精湛，制品完美，其收藏價值和歷史價值更加不容忽視。另外，乾隆盛世以后，由于明清銅爐歷史上經歷諸多劫難，損失慘重，造成后仿爐和私款爐也已成為珍罕的歷史文物。
The incense burner is an indispensable tool for the "incense Tao", and it is also an indispensable tool for the Chinese people's custom, religious and sacrificial activities. Incense instruments used in the past dynasties include Boshan furnace, hand furnace, incense bucket, lying furnace, incense tube and other different forms of incense burner, as well as smoked ball, incense stick, incense plate, incense box, incense clip, incense shovel, incense spoon, incense tube and Sachets and other supporting utensils mainly use materials such as copper, ceramics, gold and silver, bamboo and wood, enamel and jade. There are also many uses, such as lavender, furnishings, or worshipping the gods and offering Buddha. The shape is usually square or round. A square incense burner generally has four legs; a round incense burner has three legs, one leg in the front and two legs in the back.
Burning incense has been given a lot of ritual meaning beyond the practical category, and it was sacred by people at the beginning. In the course of centuries, the censer used to incense incense has also been followed by this ritual, from being out of reach to being used by literati. The price of incense burners has been in a state of steadily rising, of course, there is a big gap between the prices of various materials. The target ages for the collection of ancient porcelain furnaces are concentrated in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In December 2010, Christie’s Hong Kong sold a pair of imperial cloisonné enamel double crane incense burners from the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. The transaction price was 110 million, which is the highest price of incense burners in domestic auction so far.
The target ages of ancient porcelain furnace collections have been concentrated in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, but the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing porcelain furnaces are different. Before the Song Dynasty, the incense burner was mainly made of bronze and pottery as a traditional ancient Chinese utility. After the Han Dynasty, the material of the incense burner gradually became richer. Especially in the Song Dynasty, the porcelain industry flourished and famous kilns appeared in large numbers. Porcelain incense burners have come out. Including tripod-style incense burner, 鬲-style incense burner, Xian-style incense burner (Xian, sound with "lian"), fish ear incense burner, three-legged incense burner and so on. From then on, porcelain incense burners made of porcelain gradually replaced pottery and copper incense burners, becoming the mainstream of incense burners, and began to appear in the inner courts of the emperors of Song Dynasty, and gradually became the elegant objects of the upper class. For a time, furnace culture became a fashion for literati, and furnace setting and appreciation became a manifestation of literati’s taste. Its unique cultural characteristics made the incense burner a typical artifact representing the new culture at that time, so it had a high artistic and collection value. .
In the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, porcelain stoves gradually shifted from being mainly used for fun in the upper class to praying for gods and offerings to the ancestors. The viewing function was gradually reduced to a subordinate position, and the shape and glaze color of the ware gradually changed. The porcelain stove of the Yuan Dynasty basically retained the style of the porcelain stove of the Song Dynasty, but increased in number and variety. The main types of small and medium-sized incense burners were three-foot round stoves and Li-style stoves. It appeared in the Ming Dynasty. New shapes such as elephant ear furnaces, halberd furnaces, and tube furnaces have changed from monochromatic glaze to blue and white as the mainstream decoration, and blue and white porcelain has become the main craft; in the Qing Dynasty, bowl furnaces were the main ones. Therefore, in short, the porcelain furnaces in the Song and Yuan dynasties were dominated by celadon incense burners and kiln glazed incense burners, while in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, blue and white incense burners were dominated, and red glazed incense burners were also more common. At the same time, since the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, porcelain stoves have entered the homes of ordinary people. In addition to official kilns, civil kilns are also widely produced. In the folk, people use porcelain furnaces produced in civil kilns to burn incense and pray for blessings.
The copper incense burner made by Qianlong is regarded as the most high-end and exquisite artifacts by collectors all over the world. The reason why the price of Qianlong's imperial copper incense burner has risen is nothing more than that: In today's increasingly fierce competition in the art market, copper ware has attracted more attention as a leader in art. Such an exquisite imperial copper incense burner during the Qianlong period can reflect the exquisite craftsmanship and perfect products of the Chinese feudal period. Its collection value and historical value cannot be ignored. In addition, after Qianlong's heyday, due to many disasters and heavy losses in the history of Ming and Qing copper furnaces, the back imitation furnaces and private furnaces have become rare historical relics.
