MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

Other duck-form censers, of varying shape, dated to the Ming dynasty, or 17th century, have been published. A pair of mandarin duck censers, each shown standing on one foot on a cloisonné enamel lotus leaf base was sold at Christie's Paris, 7 December 2007, lot 13, and subsequently included in Colorful, Elegant, and Exquisite: A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Wares from Mr. Robert Chang's Collection, Suzhou Museum, 28 December 2007 - 8 May 2008, pp. 118-19. As with the present censer, the heads and legs are gilded, and there are openings in the backs which would have been fitted with a cover. Another duck-form censer, the duck also standing on a lotus leaf, but with a cover of a different type, dated late Ming, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 79, no. 76.