A white jade archaistic 'taotie' incense burner and cover Qing dynasty, 18th century | 清十八世紀 白玉仿古饕餮紋雙龍銜環蓋爐

This censer follows the Song dynasty (960-1279) tradition of creatively reinterpreting archaic ritual bronze designs into relatively small jade vessels. In the case of the present censer, the taotie masks have been rendered with lingzhi-shaped mouths, a motif repeated on the cover.

While tripod censers carved with taotie masks are numerous, those with multiple loop rings on the cover are unusual; compare a slightly larger censer of similar form, but the cover with further taotie masks and with a dragon knob, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd April 1987, lot 191; one also carved with phoenix-shaped handles, from the Avery Brundage collection, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in René-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argencé, Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection, San Francisco, 1977, pl. LIV; and another sold in these rooms, 31st October 2004, lot 10.

白玉蓋爐，依循兩宋傳統，汲古創新，取高古青銅器形，用於小形玉作。本品饕餮紋，白玉蓋爐，依循兩宋傳統，汲古創新，取高古青銅器形，用於小型玉作。本品饕餮紋，獸吻一改慣常形態，採靈芝之形，尤為獨特，變形饕餮且滿綴爐蓋，典麗古雅。

饕餮紋三足爐雖為數甚眾，此類爐頂琢活環者，實為少見。比較一件造形類同蓋爐，尺寸較大，蓋飾饕餮紋、龍紐，1987年4月23日售於紐約蘇富比，編號191；另一例為鳳形耳，出自布倫戴奇舊藏，現存舊金山亞洲藝術博物館，載於 René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé，《Chinese Jades in the Avery Brundage Collection》，三藩市，1977年，圖版LIV；還有一例售於香港蘇富比，2004年10月31日，編號10。