A DATED PARCEL-GILT BRONZE CENSER, BY HU WENMING MING DYNASTY, WANLI PERIOD, DATED TO 1613

of archaic pou form, the rounded sides supported on a low flared foot rising to a short waisted neck, cast and gilt in three registers separated by raised gilt borders encircling the shoulder and the waist, the body with two gilt taotie masks against a leiwen ground, and two pairs of confronting kui dragons with writhing bodies and finely detailed mane, the shoulder with twelve pairs of interlocking kui dragons on a floral diaper ground, the outer footrim inlaid in silver with a continuous scroll of leiwen, the mouthrim and footrim further applied with gold, the base with a gilt square panel inscribed Ming Wanli guichou qiuzhong Hu Wenming zhi wei Shiyu zhai yong ('Made by Hu Wenming for the Studio for the Discussion of Stones in the guichou year of the Wanli reign of the Ming dynasty' [corresponding to 1613 A.D.])

Sotheby's London, 13th May 1969, lot 19.
Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Peter Plesch, Newcastle-under-Lyme, January 1984.

Special Exhibition for the International Asian Antiques Fair, Hong Kong, 1984.
Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, cat. no. 103.

William Watson, 'Categories of Post-Yuan Decorative Bronzes', Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, 1981-1982, vol. 46, p. 24, fig. 12.
Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, 'Chinese Metalwork of the Hu Wenming Group', Handbook, International Asian Antiques Fair, Hong Kong, 1984, p. 49, fig. 16.

The overall condition is quite good with the exception of minor surface scratches and rubbing to the gilding consistent with age and visible in the photo.
"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."

Hu Wenming from Songjiang, Jiangsu province, was one of the most accomplished master metalworkers of the late Ming period, who specialised in the production of gilt metal vessels for the scholar's desk. The majority of Hu's works were beaten copper, but those made of cast bronze and cast copper, much fewer in number, are exquisite and rare. The present vessel, in the form of an archaic pou, is even more unusual because it bears a mark that records the piece being especially commissioned and gives a date and the studio name of the patron. This pou is dated to 1613 and was made for the Shiyu zhai ('Studio for Discussing Stones'). The Shiyu zhai belonged to the scholar-artist Zou Diguang from Wuxi, who served under the Wanli emperor rising to the post of Deputy Literary Chancellor for the provinces of Hunan and Hebei.

Another pou-form bronze vessel by Hu, also made for the Shiyu zhai and dated to the first month of winter of 1613, decorated in parcel-gilt with the bajixiang amidst flames, is recorded; from the collection of Mary and George Bloch, first sold in our London rooms, 11th December 1990, lot 38, and again in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 12.

Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss in Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 134, discuss the rarity of the pou form among archaic bronzes as well as in archaism, and suggest that perhaps Hu's patron, Zou Diguang, had such a vessel commissioned as a prototype for Hu's archaistic version. For a further discussion of the decoration seen on this piece see ibid., p. 134, where the authors highlight the importance of rubbings taken from original vessels that contributed to the simplification and abstraction of designs found in later objects.