This incense burner would have been placed on a Buddhist altar. After the mid-12th century, incense burners of Goryeo began to be decorated with colorful silver-inlaid designs, such as Sanskrit characters, dragons, anuruddha heads, clouds, and thunder. This work of art is thought to have been created after the 13th century due to the diagram designs and the ratio between its height and the radius of its mouth, which are typical features of the period.