Page 91 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc

566 566

AN ARCHAISTIC SILVER CIRCULAR BOX 567
AND COVER
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

of slightly compressed spherical form, the cover delicately
chased with alternating pairs of magpies and bats interspersed
with lea ng prunus centered by a large prunus blossom, all
against an intricate ring-matted ground, the base similarly
decorated with the addition of a recumbent deer beneath
bamboo, all raised on a splayed stepped foot (2)
Diameter 2⅜ in., 6 cm

PROVENANCE
East Coast Private Collection.

$ 3,000-5,000

567

A SILVER GILT TRIPOD CENSER
QING DYNASTY, DAOGAUNG / XIANFENG
PERIOD

of compressed globular form rising to a waisted neck and
everted rim surmounted by upright loop handles, supported on
three cylindrical legs, the exterior with three high-relief taotie
masks separated by vertical anges above a ground of leiwen
with slightly raised centers all between narrow upper and lower
bands, the masks, anges, and bands gilt, the walls and legs
cast hollow, with a six-character seal mark incised to the base
Dingfu Xingyouhengtang zhenshang (installed in the [Prince’s]
o cial residence, the Hall of Constancy, to be treasured and
enjoyed)
Height 6¾ in., 17.1 cm

PROVENANCE
Collection of Philip Edward Howard (1929-2016).
The Xingyouhengtang (‘Hall of Constancy’) seal mark identi es
the censer as having belonged to the Fifth Prince Ding, Zaiquan
of the Qing dynasty. Xingyouhengtang was the prince’s main
residence in the Forbidden City. Zaiquan was the great-great-
grandson of the Qianlong Emperor and had a distinguished
career in the service of the court until his death in 1854. The
prince was a keen art collector and appears to have made
it a habit to have his hall mark inscribed on his artifacts. His
collector’s seal with the same six-character inscription appears
on a Yuan dynasty painting by Qian Xuan titled Laiqin zhizi tu
(Crabapple and Gardenia), now in the collection of the Freer
Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution. For his biography see
Arthur W. Hummel, Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing Period,
Taipei, 1991, pp. 728–729.

$ 8,000-12,000

Philip Edward Howard 1929 2016

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 89