Lot 54. A rare gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel ribbed incense burner, Late Ming Dynasty;9cm (3 1/2in) high. Estimate: 320,000-400,000 HKD. Sold for HK$ 400,000 (€48,367). Photo Bonhams.

The cylindrical body supported on three cabriole feet, the exterior decorated with seven horizontal bands of prunus and ruyi-head leafy scrolls between raised ribs, all enamelled in vivid tones of white, yellow, red, blue and green against a rich turquoise ground. 

Note: The form of the present lot derives from gilt-bronze tripod circular incense burners of the Eastern Han period. An example of one such early piece is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Wenwu mingjia dajiangtang. Zhongguo qingtongqi, Beijing, 2008, p.274. These prototypes were the source of inspiration for many later periods and appear in a wide range of different mediums; see for example an earthenware incense burner applied with green glaze, Tang dynasty, illustrated by J.Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, no.51. In the National Palace Museum, Taipei, there are several porcelain examples of tripod incense burners with very similar narrow concentric bands forming ribs, Xuande, illustrated by Liao Baoxiu, Dianya fuli - gugong cangci, Taipei, 2013, pp.41 and 137, pls.5, 6 and 30. 

Compare the narrow bands of ruyi-shaped motifs on scrolling vines, with the similarly rendered motifs on a cloisonné enamel box and cover, Wanli mark and period, and on the foot of a cloisonné enamel box and cover, late Ming dynasty, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 1, Beijing, 2011, pls.106 and 157. This form and related style continued onto the Qianlong period as demonstrated in the cloisonné enamel tripod censer, Qianlong mark and period, sold at Christie's London, 6 November 2012, lot 46.

Bonhams. IMPERIAL SPLENDOUR, 3 Dec 2015 12:00 HKT - HONG KONG, ADMIRALTY