Page 37 - Later Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Ulrich-Hk 2014

Later Chinese Bronzes from the Collection of Ulrich
Hausmann
Hong Kong | 08 Oct 2014, 11:45 AM | HK0558

LOT 3323

AN ARABIC-INSCRIBED BRONZE CIRCULAR INCENSE-POWDER BOX AND
COVER
MING DYNASTY, 15TH / 16TH CENTURY

of cylindrical section with a flat top and slightly concave base, the central circular panel on
the cover cast in relief with Arabic with the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Muhammad’, surrounded by
a broad band of stylised interlocking floral and foliate scrolls
14.5 cm., 5 3/4 in.

ESTIMATE 120,000-180,000 HKD
Lot Sold: 2,200,000 HKD

PROVENANCE

Spink & Son Ltd., London, May 1982.

CATALOGUE NOTE

Comparable boxes exist in cloisonné enamel and are now accepted as emanating from the Xuande period, as
discussed in Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, ed. Beatrice Quette, New York,
2011, cat. no. 25, a circular cloisonné enamelled box from the Vincent Smith Collection, and cat. no. 26, an Islamic
inscribed cloisonné enamelled box from the David Weill Collection.
This flat, cylindrical form is an alternative for incense powder along with the more common domed shape. It is
inscribed in sini script, a Chinese Islamic calligraphic form for the Arabic script, developed in the early Ming dynasty. It
can refer to any type of Chinese Islamic calligraphy, but is commonly used to refer to script with thick and tapered
effects, such as on the current box. It is used extensively in mosques in Eastern China, and to a lesser extent in
Gansu, Ningxia and Shaanxi. Early examples of the script date to the early Ming dynasty, notably the mihrab of the