AN UNUSUAL 'LONGQUAN' CELADON MINIATURE CENSER NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the crisply moulded body of compressed globular form with waisted neck and everted rim set with a pair of delicately moulded ruyi-shaped handles, all supported on three scroll legs and covered overall in a pale thin bluish-green glaze

The censer is in very good with the exception of a 1.5mm glaze flake at the rim; a 5mm. diam area of glaze loss (possibly contemporary to firing) to the underside; and two iron-spot glaze firing imperfections.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Although the present censer appears to follow the classic elegant form of Longquan celadon censers that are based on archaic bronze tripods (li), it is rare to find Song examples with such ornately shaped handles and delicately moulded legs. The present censer is also unusual for its small size and for its superb finish, with the edges around the rim particularly crisp and delicate and the glaze unusually thin and light in colour tone. 

See a larger censer attributed to the Yuan period with similar handles, in the Baur Collection, Geneva, illustrated in Hai-wai yi-chen. Chinese Art in Overseas Collections. Pottery and Porcelain IV, Taipei, 1993, pl. 146; and a tripod censer without handles but covered with a very similar thin glaze of whitish-green tone, in Enkakuji, Kamakura, illustrated in Chugoku no toji, vol. 4, Tokyo, 1997, col. pl. 67, which has been designated an 'important Cultural Property' by the Japanese government.