Page 131 - Sotheby's Important Chinese Art, Sept. 21-22, 2-21, NYC

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PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF JUNE RUTH KERMAN 清乾隆 銅雲龍戲珠紋朝冠耳三足爐一對 Censers were made in a wide range of sizes to suit the needs in pursuit of a ‘flaming pearl’, as seen on the present piece,
AN EXCEPTIONAL AND RARE PAIR OF BRONZE 《大清乾隆年造》款 of different settings and occasions. The present pair might were a particularly popular subject on pieces made for the
‘DRAGON’ TRIPOD CENSERS have stood in one of the important rooms in the Imperial Qing Court. Occasionally, bronze vessels of this type were
Palace, in which incense would have been burnt to disperse
decorated with phoenix, indicating that they may have been
MARKS AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG 來源： insects and provide a pleasing aroma. Some censers might commissioned as a tribute to the empress or the empress
Garret Kerman (1925-2012) 收藏，1957年之前得於亞
each globular body resting on three cabriole legs issuing 洲，此後家族傳承 have been produced for altars or temples in the Palace dowager. See a large pair of Qianlong-marked bronze vases,
from ferocious beast masks and rising to a recessed neck as part of a five-piece altar garniture (wugong). See, for with the decoration of both dragons and phoenix, made for
example, a censer of closely related design and form, but of
the Yuanmingyuan (Imperial Summer Palace), sold three
and galleried rim, the shoulder set with a pair of pierced
S-curve handles, the body crisply cast in high relief with This pair of censers embodies the grandeur and power of monumental size, measuring 94.5 cm in height, preserved times in our Hong Kong rooms, most recently 9th October
two pairs of dragons each contesting a ‘flaming pearl’ in the British Museum, London (acc. no. OA+.7057.a). 2007, lot 1322.
surrounded by flame wisps and lingzhi-shaped clouds, the the Qianlong reign (1736-95) through their striking shape Compare also the following censers with a similar mark and The present pair of censers was acquired by Garret Kerman
and lavish decoration. They draw from archaism, as seen in
design, in ascending order by size: a vessel of similar size
motif repeated at the handles, the shoulder with a ruyi collar the overall shape inspired by ritual bronze ding vessels of (1925-2012), a professional ice skater from New York City
beneath a band of florets encircling the neck, the exterior the Eastern Zhou period (770-256 BC), and combine this sold in these rooms, 25th February 1983, lot 142; another who was a member of Sonja Henie’s “Holiday on Ice”, a show
of the rim cast with an archaistic kuilong scroll between two sold at Christie’s New York, 22nd March 2007, lot 201; a which took him to Asia in the 1950s. During these travels,
keyfret borders and centering a six-character horizontal with the quintessential Qing dynasty imperial motif of scaly third sold in our London rooms, 31st October 1986, lot 243; Kerman brought back a number of art and antiques, many
dragons striding through a dense field of swirling clouds. The
and a very large one, sold as part of a five-piece garniture in
mark within a rectangular cartouche, metal rim liners (4) elongated handles that extend dramatically in an S-curve of Chinese origin. Kerman gifted this pair of censers to his
Width across handles 11¼ in., 28.5 cm our Hong Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2826. brother Max and Max’s wife June as a housewarming gift in
from the globular body, on the other hand, are a feature that Dragons among clouds were an important imperial design 1957, and they have remained in June’s collection ever since.
originated around the Song dynasty (960-1279). Integrating
PROVENANCE element since ancient times, symbolizing the emperor’s
Collection of Garret Kerman (1925-2012), acquired in Asia old and new design elements, these remarkable vessels righteous rule over the universe. The five-clawed dragons
are characteristic of imperial ritual bronzes of the Qianlong
prior to 1957, and thence by descent.
period which synthesize the Emperor’s dual interests in
archaism and novelty.
$ 200,000-300,000

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