Page 220 - 2020 Sept Important Chinese Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Important Chinese Art | Sotheby's

Impo rtant Chinese Art
New York |23 Sep 2020 | 09:00 AM EDT

Lot 647

A LARGE BRONZE 'BUDDHIST LION' CENSER AND COVER, MING DYNASTY, 14TH / 15 H CENTUR Y
Estimate: 120,000 - 150,000 USD

A LARGE BRONZE 'BUDDHIST LION' CENSER AND COVER
MING DYNASTY, 14TH / 15TH CENTURY
明十四 / 十五世紀 銅太獅少獅大熏爐

the ferocious beast prowling with the body turning to the right and the head lifted with the nostrils flaring and the open mouth
letting out a roar, the bulging eyes glaring upward beneath the furrowed brow and tufts of curling fur, framed on either side by
trefoil ears falling back from the movement, the muscular body with flame scrolls rising in high relief from the shoulders and hips,
openwork flame-like fur forming a ridge along the backs of the legs, the five claws on each paw arched ready for attack, the bushy
tail raised and swept to one side, the oval cover at the center of the beast's back cast with a smaller seated Buddhist lion
grimacing and pawing a brocade ball, the patina a lustrous dark chocolate-brown (2)

Length 21½ in., 54.6 cm

Catalogue Note
This impressive censer is skillfully cast in the form of a menacing lion moving at a steady gait. Its vitality and strength are
conveyed through the muscular body and expressive pose, while its ferociousness is immediately sensed through the gaping
mouth that reveals the animal’s teeth. Carefully-rendered details, including the spiralling eyebrows, notched spine and naturalistic
rendering of the tail evidence the craftsmen's technical and artistic virtuosity with this medium.

This lion is particularly special for its unusual stance and large size and no other closely related example appears to have been
published. A smaller lion cast in a similar pose was sold in our London rooms, 11th November 2015, lot 124. See also a censer in
the form of a lion standing and carrying a foreigner, sold in our London rooms, 12th June 2003, lot 83, and again in our Hong Kong

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