A MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF LARGE IMPERIAL BRONZE INCENSE BURNERS, COVERS AND MARBLE STANDS MARKS AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

each with a globular body set with a pair of scroll handles on the shoulder, supported on three cabriole legs incised with lappets below a raised fillet, rising to a short neck decorated with a band of raised floral bosses, the galleried rim surmounted by two removable cylindrical tiers pierced with pairs of addorsed kui dragons divided by a domed platform, the domed cover with a knopped circular finial, impressed on the rim with a six-character reign mark within a rectangle, the bronze patinated to a rich black-brown tone with traces of red lacquer and gilt, all supported on stepped circular white marble stands pierced and incised with ruyi-shaped motifs

This pair of incense burners is striking for their massive size, which would have allowed for an impressive display that embodied the power of the Qianlong reign. The pair successfully draws from archaism through their archaic ritual ding form and the whorls on the neck, derived from bronzes of the Eastern Zhou period. This is combined with an imposing double-tiered cover. A heightened sense of authority is achieved through the elongated handles that extend dramatically in an S-curve from the compressed globular body, a feature that first appeared in the Song dynasty. Their original splendour is suggested by the luminous traces of gilding still visible on the surface.

Incense burners were commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor as ceremonial furnishings for the many shrines, temples and ritual spaces within the compounds of the Imperial palaces. A universal monarch at the center of the world, the Qianlong Emperor lent his support to a variety of religious institutions including Daoist and Buddhist temples, as well as Manchu shamanic shrines and the buildings of altars that housed the so-called ‘State Religion’, the worship of Imperial Heaven. These altar wares were conventionally cast in bronze and modelled after archaic bronzes from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, although this practice was abandoned at the beginning of the Ming when the Hongwu Emperor decreed that daily utensils were to be used during the rituals. It was however reinstated in the first part of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, reflecting the Emperor’s interest in the correct performance of ceremonies and rituals. Furthermore, the close association that these ritual wares made with China’s dynastic past served to legitimise the Manchu rulers’ right to the throne.

Large bronze incense burners such as the present ones were placed at the entrance of ritual halls as well as private residences, where some are still displayed today. It is interesting to note that some of these incense burners feature a double-tiered cover that echoes the form of tiered roofs found in the Forbidden City. Tripod incense burners also comprised five-piece altar garnitures (wugong) often displayed in front of an altar. These typically comprised an incense burner placed at the centre, flanked by two candleholders and gu-shaped vase. They were considered an integral part of ritual ceremonies and emphasised their solemnity and importance.

Four large tripod incense burners and covers of similar design are displayed in front of Cininggong (Mansion of Motherly Tranquillity), the residence of the Qianlong Emperor’s mother, illustrated in situ in the catalogue of the exhibition Splendors of China’s Forbidden City. The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, The Field Museum, Chicago, 2004, fig. 207; and two are displayed in front of Leshoutang (Hall of Pleasurable Old Age), where Empress Dowager Cixi resided after her 60th birthday, illustrated in situ in Yu Zhouyun, Palaces of the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2015, pl. 116. A five-piece altar garniture set comprising a similar incense burner but lacking the whorl motif and the cover, in the Xianruoguan, within the garden of the Cininggong, is illustrated in situ in Qingdai gongting shenghuo [Life in the palace during the Qing dynasty], Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 467; and another with the cover undecorated on the sides, is displayed in front of the Qiniandian (Hall of Prayer of Good Heaven) in the Temple of Heaven, illustrated in situ in Wang Tianxing, Tiantan-Temple of Heaven, Beijing, 1994, p. 28 bottom.

Incense burners of this form and design are rare, although a larger uncovered example was offered in our New York rooms, 20th March 2012, lot 74. Compare also a slightly larger censer and cover of similar form but cast with dragons, with Qianlong mark and of the period, sold in these rooms as part of a complete altar set, 11th April 2008, lot 2826; a slightly smaller pair with their matching covers, sold at Christie’s New York, 16th September 2016, lot 1227; a single censer cast on the body with geometric scroll, sold in our New York rooms, 15th March 2017, lot 538; and another, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3rd June 2015, lot 3118.