Lot 425. A large blue and white 'lotus' tripod incense burner, Ming dynasty, Zhengde period (1505-1521); w. 26.2 cm, 10⅜ in.; d. 17.6 cm, 6⅞ in. Estimate: 150,000 - 200,000 HKD. Lot sold: 189,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.
Note: A Zhengde-marked blue and white incense burner of similar size and decoration, but with a quatrelobed mouth and without handles, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in Ming Underglaze Blue Porcelains: Decorative Motifs and Glazes, Taipei, 2016, pl. 51.
Incense burner with underglaze blue decoration of lotus scrolls, Ming dynasty, Zhengde period (1506-1521); Mouth diameter 18.5cm, Height 14cm, Three feet diameter 12cm. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei.
The lotus blooms on the Taipei example are similarly depicted with bold outlines and washes of blue, all beneath a lipped mouth adorned with a keyfret border. Compare also another Zhengde-marked lotus-decorated example, also without handles, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, no. 1997.1.12.
Incense Burner with Lotuses, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Zhengde mark and period (1506–21), early 16th century. Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under transparent glaze (Jingdezhen ware); H. 4 1/2 in. (11.5 cm). Gift of Stanley Herzman, in memory of Gladys Herzman, 1997. Accession Number: 1997.1.12. © 2000–2020 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sotheby's. China / 5000 years, Hong Kong, 27 November 2020
