Lot 1247. A bronze pedestal censer and openwork cover, Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220); 8¼ in. (21 cm.) high. Estimate 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The deep globular bowl is encircled by a raised band bisected by a bow string, and is raised on a stem foot cast in relief on top with three lively dragons. The domed cover is cast in openwork with scrolling clouds below a bird finial standing atop a whorl motif within a ribbed border. Together with a circular dish raised on three small conical supports, and with everted rim, which is also of Han dynasty date.

Provenance: Kinpei Takeuchi (1873-1960).
Ryuichi Sano (1889-1977), acquired in Tokyo, 1950s.
Sano Art Museum, Mishima, Japan.

Note: Compare the similar bronze censer, dated Eastern Han dynasty, illustrated in Zhongguo wenwu jinghua daquan qingtongjuan, Hong Kong, 1994, p. 339, no. 1219. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Furniture, Archaic Bronzes and Works of Art, New York, 21 - 22 March 2013