A feast for your senses

"It usually takes at least 100 years for the agarwood to get off the trees naturally, so agarwood is rare and seldom seen in the market," Huang says.

Fragrance and the size are the main factors to decide whether the agarwood is worthy of being collected, Huang explains.

"If the agarwood sinks in water, it means the agarwood has a high density of oil which is essential to the fragrance."

Among the agarwood on show is a 44.5-centimeter long agarwood produced in Vietnam. It is a sinking agarwood and is dark red in color.

For thousands of years incense and fragrances have been used in China to heal, relax and as an aid to create inner peace. In recent years, the art of incense saw a renaissance with more people showing interest in it and using it.

Fragrance was used during the Warring States Period in the form of herbs to cure and prevent disease.

Exquisite wood-carving artworks	Art beat in March