An archaistic three-part blue and white openwork censer and cover, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1662-1722). Height 7 1/2 in., 19.1 cm. Photo Sotheby's

Provenance: Christie’s New York, 27th November 1991, lot 378.
Alberto Santos, London, 1997.

Note: The composite archaistic form of the present piece has been cleverly fashioned to be both of practical use and as a mnemonic device to conjure up the distant past. The concept of past reflection to both inform and inspire has deep roots in Chinese culture. The three tiers of enigmatic taotie masks summon bronze age imagery and serve as a testament to both the length and depth of the culture. Yet despite its archaic roots, its airy elegance and delicate porcelain demeanor speak volubly to its merits as a sophisticated luxury product of the Kangxi period kilns.

An identical censer but painted with iron-red is in the Qing Court Collection and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, no, 86, p. 94.  A wucai example of the same size with similar taotie mask decoration but, unusually, resting on four European-style mask feet, from the collection of Mr. Henry Hirsch, is illustrated in R.L. Hobson, The Later Ceramic Wares of China, New York, 1925, pl. LIII, fig. 3, described as a ‘cricket cage’. 

Wucai censer and cover, from the collection of Henry Hirsch.

Sotheby's. Embracing Classic Chinese Culture: Kangxi Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, New York, 14 march  2014