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Lot Essay
It is interesting to note that the present censer has remained with the descendants of Ralph Delahaye Paine over the generations for over a century. As a young man in 1900, Paine was stationed as a journalist in China and in his later life he became a well-known author.
No other example of this angular form of the present vessel appears to have been published but its shape probably found its inspiration from metalwork. It is possible that this vessel was used for the burning of incense as openwork censers are known such as the Ming period Longquan celadon tripod censer decorated with three pierced panels on the compressed body in the National Palace Museum Collection, included in A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, 1994, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 164, no. 21. Qing dynasty censers are generally not as elaborately constructed and the only other comparable example is a gilt-decorated celadon-glazed parfumier in the National Palace Museum included in the same 1994 exhibition, Catalogue, p. 226, no. 81; and a pair of parfumiers sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1370.
This type of openwork decorative technique popularly appeared on vases and the green-glazed dragon openwork panels are closely related to the pierced sides of revolving vase in the National Palace Museum example included in the exhibition, Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch'ien-lung Reign, Taipei, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 201, no. 69.
No other example of this angular form of the present vessel appears to have been published but its shape probably found its inspiration from metalwork. It is possible that this vessel was used for the burning of incense as openwork censers are known such as the Ming period Longquan celadon tripod censer decorated with three pierced panels on the compressed body in the National Palace Museum Collection, included in A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, 1994, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 164, no. 21. Qing dynasty censers are generally not as elaborately constructed and the only other comparable example is a gilt-decorated celadon-glazed parfumier in the National Palace Museum included in the same 1994 exhibition, Catalogue, p. 226, no. 81; and a pair of parfumiers sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1370.
This type of openwork decorative technique popularly appeared on vases and the green-glazed dragon openwork panels are closely related to the pierced sides of revolving vase in the National Palace Museum example included in the exhibition, Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch'ien-lung Reign, Taipei, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 201, no. 69.