A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE LOBED CENSER, QING DYN... Lot n° 87

A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE LOBED CENSER, QING DYNASTY China, 1644-1912 or later. Finely cast, supported on four tapering feet rising to round sides, the everted rim with two upright loop handles. Richly decorated to the exterior with blossom-like gold splashes. Provenance: French trade. Condition: Very good condition with expected old wear, shallow surface scratches, and casting irregularities such as pitting, few minuscule nicks, the interior with expected residues. Weight: 280 g Dimensions: Width 8.5 cm The base cast with an apocryphal four-character mark da Ming Xuande. Literature comparison: Compare a bronze censer of closely related form, lacking the gold splashes as found on the present lot, also with an apocryphal Xuande mark, 14.4 cm diameter, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated by Ja Won Lee, Collecting Culture, Representing the Self: Chosŏn Portraits of Collectors of Chinese Antiquities. Seoul Journal of Korean Studies, vol. 31, no. 1, 2018, p. 1-20. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 26 March 2010, lot 1323 Price: USD 20,000 or approx. EUR 26,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A gold-splashed bronze globular tripod censer, 17th/18th century Expert remark: Compare the related loop ring handles and gilt splashing. Note the rounded sides. Note the larger size (15.5 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 16 September 2014, lot 587 Price: USD 11,250 or approx. EUR 13,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A small lobed gilt-splashed bronze censer, 17th/18th century Expert remark: Compare the related lobed sides and gilt splashing. Note the different flared rim and lion-mask handles.