Lot Essay
The double gourd is a very auspicious symbol, with a number of meanings. The gourd can be seen as a symbol of fertility, due to its numerous seeds. It was also hollowed out and used as a storage vessel, in particular for medicine, and thus became associated with the Daoist Immortal Li Tieguai, who used it to hold the medicine with which he offered healing to the sick. Li Tieguai is often depicted with his double gourd issuing wafts of smoke which represent immortality, a particularly apt image to associate with the present censer which would likewise have emitted smoky wisps when in use.
A very similar hanging double-gourd-shaped incense burner, dated to the 16th-17th century, is illustrated by P. Moss, The Second Bronze Age, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 53.
A very similar hanging double-gourd-shaped incense burner, dated to the 16th-17th century, is illustrated by P. Moss, The Second Bronze Age, Hong Kong, 1991, no. 53.