Lot Essay
A related candle holder with two birds surrounding a hollow trunk in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated by P. Rawson and L. Legaza, Tao, la Philosophie Chinoise de Temps et du Changement, Paris, 1973, p. 101, fig. 17. See, also, the similar example sold in our Paris rooms, 21 November 2008, lot 161.
Also related are hardstone-embellished gilt-bronze censers of qilin form and Qianlong date, such as the example illustrated in A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, Taipei, 1994, no. 119, as well as the example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29 November 2005, lot 1584.
Also related are hardstone-embellished gilt-bronze censers of qilin form and Qianlong date, such as the example illustrated in A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, Taipei, 1994, no. 119, as well as the example sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29 November 2005, lot 1584.