A BRONZE TRIPOD CENSER WITH ELEPHANT-HEAD FEET, LATE MING-EARLY QING DYNASTY

拍品描述

A BRONZE TRIPOD CENSER WITH ELEPHANT-HEAD FEET, LATE MING-EARLY QING DYNASTY China, 17th century. The cylindrical censer rising from a short waisted base encircled by a raised bowstring band and supported on three cabriole legs finely cast as archaistic elephant heads, each detailed with prominent tusks and a curved trunk sweeping downward to form the point of support. The body is flanked by a pair of tall angular handles, each boldly cast in openwork with three elongated rectangular apertures and terminating above in a deeply incised ruyi head. Expert’s note The use of elephant heads as structural supports is a particularly rare feature of the present censer. Rather than serving merely as decoration, the elephants are fully integrated into the construction of the vessel, their trunks extending downward to form the actual points upon which the censer rests. Together with the unusual pierced ruyi-form handles, the archaistic elephant supports lend an otherwise restrained cylindrical vessel a distinctive sculptural character. The base cast with an apocryphal six-character mark da Ming Xuande nianzhi. Dimensions: Diameter 12.4 cm Literature comparison: Compare a related censer illustrated in Jin Yu Qing Yan, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1996, p. 166, no. 76. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s London, 13 May 2008, lot 166 Price: GBP 3,625 or approx. EUR 7,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and manner of casting with similar handles. Note the different feet and the size (18.8 cm) Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2008, lot 343 Price: USD 16,250 or approx. EUR 22,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and manner of casting with similar handles and elephant feet. Note the related size (11 cm) and gold splashes.

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