In the Chinese home, the ancestral altar was prominently placed in the main room of the house, where the family gathered, meals were taken, and guests were welcomed under the eyes of ancestor portraits. A more private communal space, such as a sitting room or work room within the women’s quarters, might also have had an altar to the popular Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin, who ensured good health, brought the birth of sons, prevented misfortune, and lessened sorrow. Censers such as the ones on view might have been used to hold offerings of incense placed upon the altar on special occasions such as Guanyin’s birthday, celebrated the 19th day of the second month. The women and children of the house would greet Guanyin each morning with lighted incense. Bronze incense burners, used in the springtime and summer, were replaced by ceramic ones for fall and winter months.