清十八世紀 灑金銅雙耳三足香爐連座 《宣德年製》仿款

modelled after the archaic bronze vessel ding, supported on three conical feet, the large compressed globular body rising to a slightly flared mouth and flanked by a pair of loop handles each set with a small tab, the bronze patinated to a rich coppery-brown colour and decorated overall with irregular splashes of gold, the matching tripod stand in the form of a mallow flower with overlapping petals raised on three ruyi-shaped feet, similarly blotted with gold splashes, the base of the censer crisply cast with a four-character apocryphal Xuande mark in elongated script within a recessed cartouche

S. Bulgari 收藏，羅馬（標籤）

The censer and stand are in overall good condition with typical occasional oxidation to the gilt splashes and wear to the surface. There are a few minute dents along the edge of the rims. There are a few light surface scratches in one area on the side near one handle (approx. 2 x 1 cm.). There are several punched dents to the underside of the base.
"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."

While bronze censers of this type are well-known from important collections, it is rare to find large examples with their matching stand. The proliferation of gold splashes suggests the present piece was made with no cost spared and for the table of a high-ranking official or an important scholar-literati. The stand, in the form of a lotus leaf, adds an element of softness to the overall object through its soft curls and balances the solidity of the vessel. A censor and stand of this type, also with a four-character Xuande mark on the vase, was sold in these rooms, 20^th May 1986, lot 171; two smaller examples were sold at Christie’s New York, 24^th March 2011, lot 1393, and 26^th March 2010, lot 1329; and another, but with a deeper body and ‘F’-shaped handles, from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat collection, was sold in these rooms, 4^th April 2012, lot 188.

Compare also a smaller example with upright handles and an apocryphal six-character Xuande mark, illustrated in Philip K. Hu, Later Chinese Bronzes: The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert E. Kresko Collections, St. Louis, 2008, pl. 28.

The origin of gold-splashed decoration remains a source of speculation. Gerald Tsang and Hugh Moss in Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, p. 184, mention that the popularity of this surface decoration was possibly fostered by Xuande bronzes of the Ming dynasty where the appearance of the gilt-splashes was caused by uneven surface patination of the vessel. Some scholars have linked gilt-splashed decoration on bronzes to qingbai and Longquan wares of the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. Robert Mowry in China’s Renaissance in Bronze, Phoenix, 1993, p. 169, mentions the appearance of fine paper enlivened with flecks of gold and silver from the early 15^th century and suggests that this ‘might have also played a role in the creation of such abstract decoration, either directly inspiring those who designed the bronzes or indirectly moulting taste to appreciate objects sprinkled with gold and silver’. Furthermore, R. Soame Jenyns and William Watson in Chinese Art. The Minor Arts II, London, 1963, p. 166, illustrate a double bronze vase with gold inlay in the form of splashes, pl. 50, which the authors describe as ‘decorated with elaborately simulated patches of apparent corrosion, the rough projecting parts consisting of pure gold, resembling un-worked nugget and grains inserted into the bronze’.