Page 192 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art
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This pair of incense burners is striking for their massive comprised five-piece altar garnitures (wugong) often displayed
size, which would have allowed for an impressive display in front of an altar. These typically comprised an incense
that embodied the power of the Qianlong reign. The pair burner placed at the centre, flanked by two candleholders and
successfully draws from archaism through their archaic gu-shaped vase. They were considered an integral part of ritual
ritual ding form and the whorls on the neck, derived from ceremonies and emphasised their solemnity and importance.
bronzes of the Eastern Zhou period. This is combined with an
imposing double-tiered cover. A heightened sense of authority Four large tripod incense burners and covers of similar design
is achieved through the elongated handles that extend are displayed in front of Cininggong (Mansion of Motherly
dramatically in an S-curve from the compressed globular body, Tranquillity), the residence of the Qianlong Emperor’s
a feature that first appeared in the Song dynasty. Their original mother, illustrated in situ in the catalogue of the exhibition
splendour is suggested by the luminous traces of gilding still Splendors of China’s Forbidden City. The Glorious Reign of
visible on the surface. Emperor Qianlong, The Field Museum, Chicago, 2004, fig.
207; and two are displayed in front of Leshoutang (Hall of
Incense burners were commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor Pleasurable Old Age), where Empress Dowager Cixi resided
as ceremonial furnishings for the many shrines, temples and after her 60th birthday, illustrated in situ in Yu Zhouyun,
ritual spaces within the compounds of the Imperial palaces. Palaces of the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2015, pl. 116. A five-
A universal monarch at the center of the world, the Qianlong piece altar garniture set comprising a similar incense burner
Emperor lent his support to a variety of religious institutions but lacking the whorl motif and the cover, in the Xianruoguan,
including Daoist and Buddhist temples, as well as Manchu within the garden of the Cininggong, is illustrated in situ in
shamanic shrines and the buildings of altars that housed the Qingdai gongting shenghuo [Life in the palace during the Qing
so-called ‘State Religion’, the worship of Imperial Heaven. dynasty], Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 467; and another with the
These altar wares were conventionally cast in bronze and cover undecorated on the sides, is displayed in front of the
modelled after archaic bronzes from the Shang and Zhou Qiniandian (Hall of Prayer of Good Heaven) in the Temple of
dynasties, although this practice was abandoned at the Heaven, illustrated in situ in Wang Tianxing, Tiantan-Temple of
beginning of the Ming when the Hongwu Emperor decreed that Heaven, Beijing, 1994, p. 28 bottom.
daily utensils were to be used during the rituals. It was however
reinstated in the first part of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, Incense burners of this form and design are rare, although
reflecting the Emperor’s interest in the correct performance a larger uncovered example was offered in our New York
of ceremonies and rituals. Furthermore, the close association rooms, 20th March 2012, lot 74. Compare also a slightly larger
that these ritual wares made with China’s dynastic past served censer and cover of similar form but cast with dragons, with
to legitimise the Manchu rulers’ right to the throne. Qianlong mark and of the period, sold in these rooms as part
of a complete altar set, 11th April 2008, lot 2826; a slightly
Large bronze incense burners such as the present ones smaller pair with their matching covers, sold at Christie’s New
were placed at the entrance of ritual halls as well as private York, 16th September 2016, lot 1227; a single censer cast on
residences, where some are still displayed today. It is the body with geometric scroll, sold in our New York rooms,
interesting to note that some of these incense burners feature 15th March 2017, lot 538; and another, sold at Christie’s Hong
a double-tiered cover that echoes the form of tiered roofs Kong, 3rd June 2015, lot 3118.
found in the Forbidden City. Tripod incense burners also
190 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比
