Lot 19. An very rare wucai reticulated incense burner and cover, Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century. Height 29.5 cm, 11 5/8 in. Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 GBP. (C) 2021 Sotheby's

the hexagonally lobed baluster body rising from a spreading foot to a short neck and everted rim, pierced to each lobe with a ruyi pendent tassel and painted with lotus on a diaper ground, the flat cover surmounted by a seated Buddhist lion painted with polychrome spots and a green mane, fitted box.

Provenance: A Japanese private collection.

Note: For an identical censer, missing the cover, see Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, 1987, pl. 768; compare also with a similarly shaped censer, also missing the cover, sold Christie's New York, 18th March 2016, lot 1580.

Sotheby's. Chinese Art, London, 12 May 2021