Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, London, 14 May 2014
Lot 37. A rare zitan incense stand, Qing dynasty, late 18th century; 99 by 41.5 by 41.5cm., 39 by 16 1/4 by 16 1/4 in. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 GBP. Lot sold 290,500 GBP. © Sotheby's
the square panelled top above a widely flaring waist carved in openwork with ruyi heads flanked by confronted kui dragons, all above a border of curling lotus lappets, the apron carved with ruyi heads, scrolls and acanthus leaves, the slender cabriole legs terminating in ruyi heads, all supported by a square stretcher on bracket feet.
Provenance: A French Private Collection.
Note: Masterfully carved and polished to a lustrous finish, this elegant stand displays the technical virtuosity of 18thcentury wood carvers. The gracefully high reticulated waist and the deeply carved lotus petals on the present stand are reminiscent of Guangdong style furniture. Tian Jiaqing in ‘The Art of Decorative Carving on Qing Dynasty Furniture’, Orientations, May, 1996, p. 51, notes that the lotus petal motif bear ‘a certain resemblance to the Sumeru throne on which certain Buddha figures are seated’.
Examples of zitan incense stands of similar form and decoration include two sold in our New York rooms, 21st September 2006, lot 37, and, 23rd March 2010, lot 168; another sold at Christie’s New York, 17th September 2008, lot 163; and a pair sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 21st May 2009, lot 1812, all sharing the deeply carved lotus petal motif under the waist. Compare also a pair of hardwood stands of this form and design, from the collection of Marchese Giuseppe Salvago Raggi, sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2012, lot 141; and a zitan stand of similar form, but carved with a flower scroll design, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Hu Desheng, The Palace Museum Collection. A Treasury of Ming and Qing Dynasty Palace Furniture, vol. 1, Beijing, 2007, pl. 317.
Zitan was the most precious and highly esteemed timber available to the master craftsmen working in the Muzuo (Wood Workshop) belonging to the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshop). With its jade-like silky texture, extremely fine and dense grain, and subtle and deep lustre, zitan was the favourite timber of the Ming and Qing courts. Its long growth period combined with its limited availability, growing mainly in the southern regions of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, made it especially valuable. By the Qing Dynasty excessive felling of zitan led to the exhaustion of its supply in China, and by the Qianlong reign, special measures were taken by the court to protect, monitor and restrict the use of zitan to the Palace Workshops.
Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, London, 14 May 2014