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3652

A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE TRIPOD 明末 銅灑金朝冠耳三足爐
‘C’-SHAPED HANDLED INCENSE BURNER 《大明宣德年製》仿款
LATE MING DYNASTY
來源：
of archaistic ding form, sturdily cast with a compressed
globular body resting on three cabriole legs, each with a 倫敦蘇富比1984年5月4日，編號443
stylised ruyi bloom to the bulging upper section, the sides
flanked by a pair of C-shaped handles, each with a ribbed
outer surface pierced with a lobed cartouche and ending
with a defined lobed upper edge decorated with ruyi scrolls,
the body bordered with eight studs, each with a central
medallion wreathed by scrollwork, the base centred with a
recessed cartouche enclosing an apocryphal six-character
Xuande mark, the vessel decorated overall save for the
interior and mark with attractive gold splashes
28.6 cm, 11¼ in.

PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s London, 4th May 1984, lot 443.
HK$ 150,000-250,000
US$ 19,200-31,900

Ulrich Hausmann, the scholar and collector of later Chinese
bronzes, discusses Xuande reign-marked bronzes from the
late Ming dynasty in his essay, ‘In Search of Later Bronzes’,
ed. Paul Moss, Documentary Chinese Works of Art in
Scholar’s Taste, Sydney L. Moss Ltd, London, 1983, p. 232:
“The end of the Ming dynasty, for many a period of
decadence and decline, saw a surprising variety of
new creations and proves to be a much underrated
period which produced fine and often highly original
metalwork. Many pieces show an uninhibited display
of differing designs and unusual shapes which
probably make this period the most individualistic
of all the later periods. Because of the diversity
of appearance, sometimes rather fancy, many of
these pieces are wrongly ascribed to the eighteenth
century, rather than one hundred years earlier”.
The archaistic ding form of the current incense burner,
which fits with Hausmann’s description, is reminiscent of
Wanli dated porcelain examples. See a Wanli blue and white
examples of similar compressed form with handles curving
upwards, from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these,
rooms 19th May 1981, lot 422, and an example dated to
1586, sold in our New York rooms, 13th September 2017, lot
63. The current incense burner is particularly innovative with
its elegant ‘C’-shaped handles.

Mark

236 SOTHEBY ’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART