XUANDE CAST SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)

The present censer is distinguished by its high-relief casting which allows for a powerful and vivacious rendering of the dragon decoration. Censers of this type are extremely rare and only a few examples have been preserved in international collections. Compare a similar gilt-bronze censer included in the Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong exhibition Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, and illustrated in the Catalogue, Hong Kong, 1986, no.139; and another parcel-gilt censer sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 5 October 2011, lot 1943. The style of the chilong and clouds on this censer are closely related to carved lacquer of the early Ming period, for example see a carved cinnabar ‘chilong’ dish in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 58, where the style of the chilong, and the clouds on the cavetto are very similar to those on the current censer. The marks on the present censer and the aforementioned examples all follow the same style, which is very similar to that which appears on porcelain vessels of this period.