Lot 13. A parcel-gilt bronze luduan-form censer, 17th century. Height 10⅛ in., 25.7 cm. Lot sold: 27,720 USD (Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000 USD). © Sothebys.

Literature: Rose Kerr et al., Chinese Antiquities from the Wou Kiuan Collection. Wou Lien-Pai Museum, Hong Kong, 2011, pl. 166.

Note: Luduan are mythical and auspicious creatures with leonine bodies, a single horn and the paws of a bear. The auspicious nature of luduan was particularly appropriate for the purpose of censers. Cast with hinged or removable heads, censers such as the present lot were made for burning incense. Smoke would emerge from the beast’s mouth, animating and empowering the sculpture. As Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson note in their discussion of a pair of Qianlong cloisonné enamel examples from the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the exhibition Splendors of China's Forbidden City. The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, The Field Museum, Chicago, 2004, these burners were traditionally valued at the Imperial Court, as with their open mouths and smoke billowing forth, they were a reminder to the emperor that he should always be receptive to honest advice (see p. 37).

Sotheby's. A Journey Through China's History. The Dr Wou Kiuan Collection Part 1, New York, 22 March 2022