Whenever a pleasant aroma wafts gently through the room at Christmas time, then this is probably due to one particular modest and unassuming figure – the Erzgebirge incense smoker.
Incense candles may well have been part of the Erzgebirge Christmas tradition as long ago as the early 19th century. Along with its aromatic properties, the incense candle had a deep religious significance in bygone times and was also used as a cure for breathing complaints.
However, we have no historical evidence of exactly when they first thought of inserting a 3 cm incense cone into a hollowed-out figure. Ferdinand Frohs and Friedrich Haustein are credited with having produced the first SeiVen incense smokers to be turned on lathes around the year 1850.
In contrast to the Nutcracker King, who gently pokes fun at the powers that be, these figures were designed to represent popular characters from village life such as the chimney sweep, night watchman and postman.
