† AN ‘IMPERIAL TRIBUTE’ MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND GLASS INLAID GILT-BRONZE CENSER AND COVER, QIANLONG PERIOD

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† AN ‘IMPERIAL TRIBUTE’ MOTHER-OF-PEARL AND GLASS INLAID GILT-BRONZE CENSER AND COVER, QIANLONG PERIOD Expert’s note This exquisite incense burner belongs to a group of highly sophisticated precious objects made in southern Guangdong province, as tribute gifts to the Imperial court in Beijing. Its form is inspired by archaic bronzes, specifically the fang ding, which were extremely popular at the Qianlong Emperor's Court. Opulently decorated objects such as the current lot epitomize the distinctive fusion of Chinese craftsmanship and Western-inspired decorative elements that flourished in Guangzhou from the mid-18th century. The well-known automaton clocks, perhaps the most extravagant works of art made during the Qing dynasty, and often similarly fashioned with colored glass, are also part of this group. Created within a cosmopolitan environment of artistic exchange, these visually striking works served not only as refined objects of imperial display but also as expressions of the Qing Empires’s unrivaled wealth. China, 1736-1795. Of archaic fang ding form with upright lug handles, supported on four flat, blade-shaped legs issuing from beast heads, each side of the body inlaid with carved and reticulated mother-of-pearl plaques featuring auspicious motifs of bats and kuilong amid floral scroll, framed by inset red and green glass stones, the legs inset with red stones on the short sides and inlaid with mother-of-pearl plaques incised with S-scrolls, the handles and neck neatly incised with bands of key-fret. The reticulated cover is similarly decorated and surmounted by a Buddhist lion finial on a carved turquoise base inlaid with further red stones. The interior with a removable compartment. Dimensions: Height 16.5 cm This remarkable censer is testament to the intellectual, cultural, and material exchange between China and Europe in the 18th century. Brilliantly gilded and elaborately decorated, the current lot exemplifies the emergence of a new style that synthesized European and Chinese decorative motifs and techniques. While the imitation of Chinese styles, known as ‘chinoiserie’, was popular at European courts during the 18th century, there was also a vogue for fine works of art in European style at the imperial Chinese court in Beijing. Starting in the Kangxi reign, an increasing number of Jesuit artists were employed at the Imperial Court. Meanwhile, Guangzhou had become the main trading center with the West, and the first landing place for many Jesuit missionaries. Exposed firsthand to foreign objects and technology, Guangzhou craftsmen began to produce wares that adapted Western technology and designs to suit Chinese tastes. On this censer, craftsmen used colored glass-paste stones that cleverly imitated precious stones such as emeralds and rubies. The technique was borrowed from the West, where it was originally employed on small snuff boxes, pocket watches, and clocks imported to China, but was quickly mastered by Guangzhou craftsmen. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related white jade inlaid gilt-copper censer of fang ding form from a five-piece altar offering set, dated Qing dynasty, 35.7 cm tall, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, reference number 中銅002374N000000000. Compare a related glass-inlaid gilt-copper censer of ding form, dated Qing dynasty, 18.3 cm tall, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, reference number 中雜000052N000000000. Compare also a small clock, similarly decorated, and part of a treasure box, dated Qing dynasty, illustrated in A Garland of Treasures: Masterpieces of Precious Crafts in the Museum Collection, Taipei, 2014, p. 166 and 172. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 22 September 2021, lot 218 Price: USD 47,880 or approx. EUR 51,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related glass-inlaid decoration on gilt-bronze. Note the size (19.8 cm). 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

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