One of the most unusual objects in the collections housed at the Prussian Palaces and Gardens of Berlin-Brandenburg is an almost 2.90-metre-high bronze incense urn on the lawn near the Chinese House in Sanssouci Park. According to the inscription on the urn, it was cast in China in 1723. It remains unclear how the piece found its way to Sanssouci. According to one tradition, the Siamese King Chulalongkorn (1853-1910) gifted the incense burner to the German Emperor Wilhelm II during his nine-month tour of Europe in 1897. However, it is also possible that the incense urn - along with the astronomical instruments that stood outside the Orangery Palace from 1901 to 1919 - were looted during the so-called “Boxer Rebellion” in Peking in 1900-1901. There is no archival evidence to support either hypothesis.
The incense urn is decorated with numerous Buddhist and Chinese symbols, including lotus blossoms, a wheel, a pair of goldfish and an endless knot. The swastika (= Sanskrit, English: 'lucky charm' or 'bringer of good fortune') on the frieze above the bulbous vessel is also part of the incense burner's ornamentation. This is not unusual in Buddhist symbolism. Countless examples depict the swastika as a decorative element on temples or ritual objects. Since the incense urn was probably created in 18th century China, the swastika here, in the form of a sun wheel, refers to light, life and fertility. By the end of the 19th century, however, it was used as a hooked cross by nationalist groups in Europe as an expression of nationalism and anti-Semitism. Ultimately, the German National Socialists used the swastika as their official symbol and emblem.
