明清铜香炉炼铜技艺精湛高超，错金、镀银、包金、镶嵌等装饰手法多样。明清铜炉，虽然造型、装饰不尽相同、层出不穷，但仿前制较多，更以仿宣德炉为甚。鉴赏铜炉有别于其他铜器，王世襄曾漫话藏炉，“历来藏炉家欣赏的就是其简练造型和幽雅铜色，尤以不着纤尘，润泽如处女肌肤，精光内含，静而不嚣为贵。这是经过长年炭墼烧爇，徐徐火养而成的。铜色也会在火养的过程中出现变化，越变越耐看，直到完美的程度。”

The Ming and Qing Dynasties copper copper incense burner superb superb, gold, silver, Bao Jin, mosaic decoration diversity. The Ming and Qing Dynasties copper furnace, although the shape, decoration is not the same, but before making more emerge in an endless stream, imitation, imitation in what furnace. The appreciation of copper stove is different from other bronzes, Wang Shixiang had the hidden furnace, "has always been hidden stove appreciate is that its concise style and elegant bronze, especially not dust, moist skin as a virgin, all containing, but not all of your static. This is after years of carbon bricks burning hot, slowly raise a fire. Copper will also change in the process of raising the fire, more and more engaging, until the degree of perfection."

铜香炉在古代的使用非常广泛，上至皇宫、庙堂的祭祀礼器，下至书房卧室的香薰暖炉。汉代以前就已有铜质香炉出现。汉代的铜香炉中最著名的是“博山炉”。魏晋玄风盛行，士人讲究姿仪，“薰衣剃面”优雅风仪，铜炉出现了多种样式。唐时铜制香具的形制更加繁多。

Copper incense burner is very extensive in ancient times, from the palace, the temple worship ceremony, to study the bedroom aromatherapy heater. The bronze incense burner appeared before the Han dynasty. The most famous bronze incense burner in Han Dynasty was the Boshan stove". The prevalence of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties, scholars pay attention to posture instrument, "Xunyi shaving" elegant manners, the emergence of a variety of styles of copper furnace. Tang Dynasty, copper incense with more shapes.

元末明初随着铜香炉铸造业的迅速发展，其他材质的香炉大量被铜炉取代。明清时期，铜香炉更是风靡朝野，所制铜炉种类繁多，精美佳妙，绝后空前。其炼铜之精，尤为特色。闻名遐迩的大明宣德炉，登峰造极，以光滑圆润称著于世，兼有钧瓷的凝重与汝瓷的蕴藉。不仅后人视同金银，即便当朝也极为受宠。明代祝允明毫不讳言：“其虽小所费甚巨，几与金玉同价„„当与商彝周鼎共宝。”明清文人雅士热衷感官养生学的研究，喜爱在书斋雅卧内以铜炉焚香以营造“红袖添香夜读书”的意境和古雅氛围。

In the late Yuan and early Ming Dynasty, with the rapid development of the copper censer casting industry, the other materials were replaced by copper furnace. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, bronze censer is popular for copper stove's, many kinds of exquisite, wonderful, unprecedented unprecedented. The copper is refined, characteristics. The well-known, far and near Daming Xuande furnace, smooth to reach the peak of perfection, all over the world, both the dignity and the implication of Ru Jun. Not only the descendants as gold and silver, even when extremely. Zhu Yunming: "the small Ming Dynasty declare in no uncertain terms cost greatly, and a few price --- when Bao Jin and Shangyizhouding." The Ming and Qing literati keen on sensory health, love in the den to ya lying inside the copper stove burning incense to create a "netrose night reading" the mood and quaint atmosphere.