Page 163 - Christie's, Important Chinese Works of Art December 2, 2015 HK

PROPERTY FROM A JAPANESE PRIVATE COLLECTION 㖍㛔䥩Ṣ㓞啷炻℞⺢䩳㕤1950⸜ẋ军1960⸜ẋ

3161 揬⹟䅁⸜㫦䘬戭䆸㤝䁢䦨份炻楁㷗Ἓ⢓⼿㚦㉵岋ᶨẞ忈⼊⍲
姕妰➢᷶ᶨ农䘬Ḧ昮㫦㌸䴚䏢䐗尉憽味䆸炻⼰㚱㨇㚫㗗ὅ㒂
A VERY RARE FINELY CAST GILT-SPLASHED 㛔⹟䅁戭䆸侴墥炻夳2000⸜4㚰30㖍⚾抬炻㉵⑩535嘇炻᷎叿
BRONZE ‘ELEPHANT’ CENSER AND OPENWORK 抬㕤2006⸜楁㷗↢䇰˪楁㷗Ἓ⢓⼿Ḵ⋩忙⸜⚆栏烉ᷕ⚳䒟☐
COVER ⍲ⶍ喅⑩䱦怠˫炻276枩炷 炸ˤ

KANGXI CAST FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD
(1662-1722)

The heavily cast censer is flanked by a pair of mythical animal
mask handles incorporating a lion’s mane and an elephant’s trunk,
supported on three elephant heads, the surface decorated with
gilt splashes. The openwork cover is pierced with leafy scrolls
surrounding the finial cast as a recumbent elephant, wearing
beaded jewels and draped by an embroidery, carrying gilt treasures
on its back. The base of the censer is cast with a Kangxi four-
character mark.
8 …/Ÿ in. (20.7 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

HK$600,000-800,000 US$78,000-100,000

PROVENANCE:

A Japanese private collection, formed during the 1950s and 1960s

It is extremely rare to find a bronze censer bearing a Kangxi reign
mark. Compare to a Qianlong-marked cloisonné censer with almost
identical form and design, very likely to be modelled after the current
Kangxi-period censer, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 April 2000, lot
535, illustrated in Christie’s 20 Years in Hong Kong: Chinese Ceramics
and Works of Art Highlights, Hong Kong, 2006, p. 276 (fig. 1)

fig. 1

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