Page 40 - Christie's Hong Kong May 31, 2017 Fine Buddhist Works of Art

its actual weight of 4717 grams, showing that it was very precisely fig. 4 Woodblock print from Shishi yuanliu, Yongle Imperial edition
measured. 圖三 永樂內府刻版《釋氏源流》
The decoration on the current censer is obviously related to
Buddhism, but it is very difficult to identify each scene. One of
the scenes (fig. 3) appears to recount the story where, upon being
attacked by drunken elephants set loose by King Ajatashatru,
the Buddha released five lions from his five fingers to quell the
elephants. This story is recorded in many different sutras. The
composition and decorative style of the decoration around the
censer could have been inspired by contemporaneous woodblock
prints, such as this example (fig. 4) in Shishi yuanliu (The Origins
of Shakyamuni), printed by the imperial printing press of theYongle
period. This book was very popular during the Ming dynasty and
was re-issued with new woodblock compositions subsequently in
Jingtai and Chenghua periods, produced by the Imperial printing
press. This censer is extremely rare and no other identical example
appears to have been recorded. However, a small gilt-silver alms
bowl, sold by Christie’s Forever on the 5 June 2012, lot 628 (fig.
5), is very similarly decorated with a more simplified composition
for its decoration, and bears the mark of Wanli Yinzuoju ( 銀 作
局 Imperial Silver Atelier). The current censer is a very important
example in the study of gold and silver objects made in the Imperial
atelier, as well as the type of Buddhist offerings made by the court.
38