MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

Details

A LARGE CLOISONNE ENAMEL CENSER, FANGDING
MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY
The censer has twin upright handles and is decorated to each side in bright enamels with a bold design of a taotie mask below a pair of confronting kui dragons divided by a vertical flange. The cover is bordered by a band of scrolling lotus below a finely worked reticulated gilt metal panel of confronting dragons chasing the flaming pearl. The cover is surmounted by a Buddhist lion dog. The base has a double vajra medallion with the Eight Trigrams encircling a yin-yang symbol. The censer is supported on four elephant-head blade legs.
12¾ in. (32.4 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired in Germany before 1989.

Literature

Dr. Gunhild Gabbert Avitabile, Die Ware aus dem Teufelsland, Chinesische und japanische Cloisonné – und Champlevé-Arbeiten von 1400 bis 1900, Germany, 1981, p. 62, cat. no. 17

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

A similar example is illustrated in Avitabile, Die Ware aus dem Teufelsland: Chinesische und japanische Cloisonné - und - Champlevé Arbeiten von 1400 bis 1900, no. 17, p. 62-3; and Lin, Chinese Incense Burners: Collection of Steven Hung and Lindy Chern, no. 13, p. 45.

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