A GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE INCENSE BURNER, DING ATTRIBUTED TO HU WENMING, MING DYNASTY, 17TH CENTURY

of archaistic ding form, the compressed globular body supported on three tapered cylindrical legs, the everted rim surmounted by a pair of arched handles, the upper body cast with a raised band enclosing three pairs of stylised archaistic dragons inlaid in gold, paired to confront each other and separated by raised flanges, all against a ground of leiwen intricately inlaid in silver wire

Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, May 1983.

Gerard Tsang and Hugh Moss, 'Chinese Metalwork of the Hu Wenming Group', Handbook, International Asian Antiques Fair, Hong Kong, 1984, p. 49, fig. 15.

The style and quality of the inlaid decoration on this incense burner is closely related to that on the Hu Wenming incense burner inscribed with a 1583 date, originally in the Betty James Westbrook Collection and sold in our New York rooms 25th February 1982, lot 295a. Although the current example is unsigned, it can be confidently attributed to the Hu Wenming workshop, through the similarity of the style and quality of the gold-inlaid decoration, silver-wire leiwen ground and decoration of the dragons.