Page 170 - March 22 2022 Bonhams

PROPERTY OF VARIOUS OWNERS For other examples of warmers with Zhang Mingqi marks, see
Bonhams London, 9 November 2017, lot 76; Sotheby’s, Important
217 Chinese Art from the Collection of Bruce Dayton and Ruth Stricker
Dayton, 21 September 2021, lot 126, dated to the seventeenth
A BRONZE HANDWARMER century; Christie’s 29 May 2019, lot 2946, dated to the eighteenth
Zhang Mingqi mark, Qing Dynasty century; and Sydney L. Moss Ltd., The Second Bronze Age. Later
The coppery-bronze body and cover with hexafoil lobes and of Chinese Metalwork, Hong Kong, 1991, no.81 and 82 (foot warmers).
bombe form, the fitted cover with a delicate pierced design of
conjoined flowerheads, a swing handle attached at the widest For a detailed discussion of hand warmers and the works of Zhang
point of the shoulders, all under an attractive patina, engraved four Mingqi and his contemporaries, see an essay by Ulrich Hausmann
character Zhang Mingqi zhi mark at base. entitled ‘Keeping Warm in a Cold Study: The Warmer’ published by
5 1/8in (13cm) across handle; 3 3/8in (8.8cm) high; 4 1/8in (10.7cm) Paul Moss (ed.) in his exhibition catalogue The Literati Mode: Chinese
deep Scholar Paintings, Calligraphy and Desk Objects, Sydney L. Moss,
London, 1986, pp. 311-315.
$3,000 - 5,000

清 銅手爐 《張鳴崎製》款

For another example of similar size and with a comparable
flowerhead design to the fitted cover, see Sotheby’s, Hong Kong,
Later Chinese Bronzes From The Collection Of Ulrich Hausmann, 7
October 2014, lot 3317.

The gem-like quality exhibited by our example demonstrates
a particularly masterly quality that echoes the design and
craftsmanship of Zhang Mingqi the renowned late Ming master. Such
vessels were used primarily to keep the hands warm during the long
cold winters and the small size, would have made this example easy
to handle and even tuck inside voluminous sleeves.

(mark)

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