Page 142 - China's Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert H.CIague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900

ROBABLY AN INCENSE CO NTAL N E R, this small, circular, covered box
stands on a short footring, its bowl-like container and slightly domed
P cover of generally matching shape. A slightly sunken, diamond-shaped
cartouche with bracketed edges and gilded surfaces occupies much of the
broad cover; it features a tree peony growing from a clump of soil nestled
in one of the bracketed corners. The peony's stalk divides into two branches
immediately above the ground line, each branch having one blossom and
one bud, in addition to numerous leaves; a butterfly hovers above the left
branch, completing the composition. All of the decorative elements stand
in relief against the sunken ground; punched with fine, closely spaced
rings in strictly ordered horizontal rows, the ground resembles finely
woven fabric in texture. The reddish-orange color of the copper shows
through the gilding at the high points of the relief, in the flower buds, the
petals at the center of the blossoms, and the wings of the butterfly, for
example, perhaps due to wear but possibly due to intentional rubbing after
gilding to create subtle but harmonious contrasts in color. The exterior
walls of the box, like those surrounding the cartouche on the cover, have
been chemically treated to induce the dark, gunmetal gray finish, providing
the perfect foil for the gilding within the cartouche. The exterior of the
container sports a branch of fruiting peach and another of blossoming
peony, the opposed branches separated top and bottom by opposing
pairs of birds in flight; the incised and gilded lines of the container's
decorative scheme stand out against the dark gray of the vessel wall.
Narrow bands of hatching border the edges of box and cover, the gilding
in the finely incised lines now much worn. A lip, perhaps the upper edge
of a liner held in place by tension and solder, encircles the inner edge of
the container to anchor the cover. The lip and the interiors of box and
cover are fully gilded but otherwise undecorated. The base and footring
are also undecorated, though their surfaces show the same gunmetal gray
finish as the surrounding walls.

This box derives from the similar bronze incense boxes [11,13, and 14]
that became fashionable in the late Ming and that trace their lineage through
the small jade and lacquer boxes of the early and mid-Ming, to the covered
ceramic boxes of the Song, and ultimately to the gold and silver boxes
that enjoyed popularity in aristocratic circles during the Tang. Its short
footring, low-set proportions, and slightly domed cover set this box apart
from late Ming and early Qing examples, 1 however, but link it to Qianlong-
2
period jade ones, placing it firmly in the eighteenth century.

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