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Lot Essay
The carving on the present piece is exceptionally fluid and detailed. Compared to a number of related incense holders dating to the late Ming dynasty, including those published in Simon Kwan, Ming and Qing Bamboo, Hong Kong, 2000, pp. 172-179, nos. 13, 14, and 15.
Compare the present lot to an incense holder from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Hawthorn carved with a very similar motif but with the addition of multiple mythical beasts sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 December 2008, lot 2330.
Another example dated to late Ming carved with two chilong is in the Wang Shixiang Collection and illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Wan-go Weng, Bamboo Carving of China, New York, 1983, p. 26, figs. 12 and 12a.
Compare the present lot to an incense holder from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Hawthorn carved with a very similar motif but with the addition of multiple mythical beasts sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 December 2008, lot 2330.
Another example dated to late Ming carved with two chilong is in the Wang Shixiang Collection and illustrated by Wang Shixiang and Wan-go Weng, Bamboo Carving of China, New York, 1983, p. 26, figs. 12 and 12a.