Lot 2806
2806
A RARE GILT-BRONZE TRIPOD OFFERING STAND
A RARE GILT-BRONZE TRIPOD OFFERING STAND
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A RARE GILT-BRONZE TRIPOD OFFERING STAND

YONGLE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER PRESENTATION MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1403-1424)

Details
A RARE GILT-BRONZE TRIPOD OFFERING STAND
YONGLE INCISED SIX-CHARACTER PRESENTATION MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1403-1424)
The elegant legs of the stand are formed as three, evenly spaced, makara dragons. Each vertical-form dragon is raised from an elaborately scrolled tail that transforms into an arched neck before emerging into upright head. Its partially open mouth exposes its teeth and grasping one of the circular beads that form the circular ring platform. The interior of the ring is inscribed with the Yongle presentation mark.
5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) high
Provenance
Hirano Kotogen, Tokyo, circa 1980s
A Japanese private collection, acquired from the above in the 1980s

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Lot Essay

In Buddhist practices, the present stand is probably used for the support of a conch shell, an offering bowl or a kapala, and placed on altar tables. A slightly smaller stand (13.5 cm. high) is illustrated in Chinese Imperial Patronage, Treasures from Temples and Palaces, vol. II, Christopher Bruckner, Asian Art Gallery, London, no. 4; where it is illustrated with a similarly sized cloisonne enamel example dating to circa 1400, no. 5. Compare also related upright dragon supports forming the base of a pair of Ming dynasty candlesticks as part of a garniture set, included in the exhibition, A Special Exhibition of Buddhist Gilt Votive Objects, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1995, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 96, pl. 16-2-3.

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