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# A unique piece from the furnishings of the Ostankino Palace, commissioned by Count Nikolay Petrovich Sheremetev in 1794: a gilded incense burner of copper, brass, marble and wood from the workshop of Paul Spoll
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/unikalnyi-predmet-iz-obstanovki-ostankinskogo-dvortsa-zakazannyi-grafom-nikolaem-petrovichem-sheremetevym-v-1794-g-zolochennaia-kurilnitsa-iz-medi-latuni-mramora-i-dereva-iz-masterskoi/
- Published: 2020-10-03T09:22:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:42:11.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Aristocracy, Archive, Moscow, Museums

A unique piece from the furnishings of the Ostankino Palace, commissioned by Count Nikolay Petrovich Sheremetev in 1794: a gilded incense burner of copper, brass, marble and wood from the workshop of Paul Spoll. The advertising description in the newspapers of the late 18th century sets out at length the functions of this furnishing, handsome but baffling. It was to become the centrepiece of the interior and lent itself to a variety of uses: one could remove the upper lid and pour in perfumes, warming them with a spirit lamp fitted beneath; over the flame of the same lamp one could brew tea and coffee; one could take away the heating element, fill the bowl with water and release little red fish into it; one could grow flowers in it; one could stand bouquets in it; one could use it as a stand. All in all, for all the variety of actions described, the burner still does not strike one as anything indispensable, and rather resembles yet another coffin with music. But Sheremetev ordered two such burners at once, and both have survived to this day, to judge by their appearance, not much used.