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Lot Essay
A pair of similar carved jade incense perfumers from the Qianlong period decorated with landscape and figural scenes, together with their matching covers are illustrated in: Exhibition Catalogue, China. The three Emperors 1662-1795, Royal Academy of Arts, London 2005, p. 300, no. 227. As in contemporary Europe, unpleasent smells were a feature of everyday life. The use of perfumes to dispel them was common practice. Either incense or perfume sticks would be stuck into the containers through one of the removable end plugs and the perfume or smoke would then be released through the openwork design. In the palace and wealthy households, incense, in stick or powder form, was burnt not only to perfume a room but also to repel insects. Camphor or insect-repellents would be used inside such reticulated perfume-holders which would then have been placed among clothes or quilts to protect them from moths. Perfume holders were most often made of bamboo, but for an Emperor, jade would have been considered more appropriate.