A cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze tripod incense burner and cover Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 掐絲琺瑯福壽紋雙龍耳蓋爐

Acquired in New York, December 2000.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 11th April 2008, lot 2807.

2000年12月購於紐約

香港蘇富比2008年4月11日，編號2807

The present piece relates to a group of covered incense burners of various sizes, unified by the overall form of a globular body on scrolled makara legs, twin scrolled qilong handles and domed cover surmounted by a pierced finial. Of known burners from this group, this appears to not only be the smallest, but also the only one with a body decorated with naturalistic peach sprays, the other examples decorated with a variety of stylised floral and scroll motifs. The motifs of the present example convey wishes of blessings and longevity.

For related Qianlong and 18th-century examples of this form, compare an incense burner with reversed makara-heads on the legs, sold in our London rooms, 3rd June 1975, lot 32; a burner with cloisonné lotus petal lappets at the shoulder, from the Fonthill Heirlooms, sold at Christie's London, 9th November 2004, lot 23; an example with hexagonal body sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30th May 2005, lot 1285; and another of hexagonal form with stepped cover, formerly in the collection of the Palmer Museum of Art, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2004, lot 542, and sold again in these rooms, 30th March 2006, lot 172. For a further example from the Qing Court collection with cloisonné finial, see Metal-Bodied Enamel Ware. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 150.