A 'DEHUA' TRIPOD CENSER, GUI QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD

well potted after the archaistic Zhou dynasty bronze gui form, the compressed circular body with ribbed sides resting on three short feet modelled as paws and applied with bovine masks, the sides flanked by a pair of loop handles issuing from animal masks, the base encircled by moulded pendant lappets and the rim with zoomorphic motifs, covered overall with an even ivory-tinged glaze 

Collection of Edward T. Chow.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th May 1981, lot 467.

Zhongguo mingtao riben xunhui zhan, Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Tokyo, 1992, p. 154.

The Leshantang Collection of Chinese Porcelain, Taipei, 2005, cat.no. 17.

There is a starcrack to the interior, (not visible on the base) the longest extending approx 4cm. Otherwise the piece is in very good condition overall.
"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."

Fine Dehua wares are appreciated for their beauty, pure white pearl-like glaze and for the particularly smooth texture of the glaze. It was a ware highly favoured by the literati class who felt that the white glaze reflected and emulated their pure taste. Dehua kilns produced objects for the scholar's desk and the house altars.

Censers in the form of archaic bronzes after late Western Zhou dynasty tripod gui catered to the scholar's antiquarian tastes. Robert H. Blumenfield in Blanc de Chine. The Great Porcelain of Dehua, Berkeley, 2002, p. 21, notes that 'Dehua-made incense burners were used in temples, by families at household altars, or by scholars who sometimes used them to hold scholars' rocks or pebbles (for contemplating nature) or who savoured the smell of incense while they worked.'

A closely related censer from the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Collection. Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 109; and another similar example, from the Carl Kempe collection in the Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities, Ulricehamn, Sweden, is published in Chinese Ceramic Treasures. A Selection from the Ulricehamn East Asian Museum, Including the Carl Kempe Collection, Ulricehamn, 2002, cat. no. 810.

Compare a related gui decorated with a band of stylised flowers and raised on a high foot sold in our London rooms, 12th December 1989, lot 387; and another sold in these rooms, 17th May 1988, lot 41. For examples of archaic bronze-inspired Dehua censers of other forms see a ding illustrated in P. J. Donnelly, Blanc de Chine, London, 1969, pl. 13D; and a fangding included in Robert H. Blumenfield, op. cit., p. 23, fig. D. 

For the inspiration of this piece see a Western Zhou dynasty archaic bronze gui illustrated by Jessica Rawson, Western Zhou Ritual Bronzes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, vol. II B, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Washington DC, 1990, no. 56.