WESTERN HAN DYNASTY, 1ST CENTURY BC

Details

A BRONZE CENSER AND COVER, BOSHANLU
WESTERN HAN DYNASTY, 1ST CENTURY BC
The censer has a hemispherical bowl raised on a stem foot, and a conical cover cast in openwork as a cloud-enshrouded hill surmounted by a bird standing with wings and tail spread. The surface has a mottled patina of grey and milky-green color.
Together with a shallow circular dish with an inscription on the rim.
11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm.) high, Japanese wood box

Provenance

Acquired in Tokyo, December 1983.
Christie's New York, The Sze Yuan Tang Archaic Bronzes from the Anthony Hardy Collection, 16 September 2010, lot 890.

Literature

J. Rawson and E. Bunker, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1990, no. 45.
Li Xueqin, The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, Singapore, 2000, no. 91.

Exhibited

Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Ancient Chinese and Ordos Bronzes, 1990.
Singapore, Asian Civilisations Museum, The Glorious Traditions of Chinese Bronzes, 2000.
Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, Hong Kong, 2002-2006.

Lot Essay

Hill censers of this type appeared during the Han period, perhaps reflecting the interest during the period in mystical mountains as the abode of the spirits. Several hill censers of different types excavated in different provinces were included in the exhibition, Treasures from the Han, Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1990-1991; a pottery example raised on a stem within a dish, unearthed in 1953, Luoyang, Henan province, and a bronze example supported by a bird standing on a tortoise set within a dish, unearthed in 1966, Changan county, Shaanxi province, both illustrated on p. 65; and the exquisite gold-decorated bronze censer of Prince Liu Sheng, Zhongshan, Mancheng county, Hebei province, illustrated on p. 112.

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