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Lot Essay
The burning of incense and other aromatics occurred in China since the Han dynasty and were commonly used for both secular and religious purposes. Censers and their stands were placed in interiors, in Imperial offices, private residences but could also be placed in places of worship or used outdoors. An incense stand of rectangular shape is illustrated in the Ming dynasty Sanbao Tianjian Xiyangji Tongsu Yanyi (The Eunuch Sanbao's Voyage to the Western Ocean) (fig. 1).
The high waist and the graceful undulations of the cusped apron on the present stand are both distinctive features that have strong links to Buddhism. High waisted pedestal stands, xumizuo, were commonly placed in front of Buddhist images, whilst the arched outlines formed by the apron resemble the kunmen, the outlines to the openings of Buddhist caves and pagodas, also seen on the incense stand illustrated as lot 2806 in this sale. For further discussion, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, Vol.1, p.52-54.
The high waist and the graceful undulations of the cusped apron on the present stand are both distinctive features that have strong links to Buddhism. High waisted pedestal stands, xumizuo, were commonly placed in front of Buddhist images, whilst the arched outlines formed by the apron resemble the kunmen, the outlines to the openings of Buddhist caves and pagodas, also seen on the incense stand illustrated as lot 2806 in this sale. For further discussion, see Wang Shixiang, Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1990, Vol.1, p.52-54.