MING DYNASTY, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

Novelty incense burners in the form of birds were first introduced in the Han dynasty and enjoyed a fair amount of popularity in the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods. A Longquan celadon incense burner dated c. 1450-1550 in the form of a duck standing on a rock and with a removable wing made of gilt-bronze is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 498, no. 16:93, along with two other Longquan celadon bird-form censers, one modeled as a pair of birds, the other as a parrot, and a bronze bird-form censer dated 12th-13th century, nos. 16:92, 16:94 and 16:92 (fig. 1), respectively.