Page 79 - 2011 - The Frank Arts Collection, Chinese Bronzes

26. Bronze incense burner and cover boshanlu

Han dynasty, 206 BC – 220 AD
Height: 22 cm

Bronze incense burner and cover of the boshanlu type fixed to a large round
bronze plate. The incense burner’s body is cast in the form of a hemispherical bowl
raised on a stem-like foot on a conical downwardly sloping base decorated with cloud
patterns. The vessel’s conical cover, in the shape of the mystical mountain peaks on
which the Taoist immortals live, is cast in openwork and decorated with high relief
cloud vapour motifs.
The bronze incense burner has a green patina.
Provenance:
- M. Goedhuis, London 1992.
- Frank Arts Collection, Belgium.
Similar example:
- A similar bronze boshanlu incense burner from the Cernuschi Museum, Paris,
France, is illustrated by Deydier Ch, Les Bronzes Chinois, le guide du connaisseur,
Fribourg 1980, p. 122 n° 89.

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