Page 248 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 Hong Kong

435
A bronze lobed oval hand warmer and cover
Ming dynasty, Zhang Mingqi mark
Surmounted by a curved overhead handle fastened at the sides, the
reticulated cover simulating basket weave forming pierced hexagonal
and triangular-shaped ‘star’ design, the slightly recessed base cast with a
four-character zhuanshu seal mark of the maker.
24.5cm wide. (2).
HK$30,000 - 50,000
US$3,900 - 6,500
明 銅製海棠式蓋暖爐 陰刻「張鳴岐製」篆文方印
Such vessels were used primarily to keep the hands warm during the
long cold winters, however larger foot warmers also exist. Examples of
foot warmers cast with Zhang Mingqi marks are illustrated by Sydney
L. Moss Ltd., The Second Bronze Age. Later Chinese Metalwork, Hong
Kong, 1991, no.81 and 82. See also a large foot warmer sold in these
rooms, 27 May 2012, lot 293.

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