Juliette Hammer
Sale Coordinator
Lot 7
A RARE AND LARGE GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE 'ALMS BOWL'-SHAPED INCENSE BURNER AND COVER Nei tan jiao she four-character mark, 17th/18th century
14 May 2025, 10:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£15,000 - £20,000
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Chen Xie
Specialist
Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
Lazarus Halstead
Head of Chinese and Asian Art, London
A RARE AND LARGE GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE 'ALMS BOWL'-SHAPED INCENSE BURNER AND COVER
Nei tan jiao she four-character mark, 17th/18th century
Expertly cast with a compressed globular body with a lipped rim surrounded by a broad shoulder rising from a narrow foot, bands of lotus-petal lappets around the mouth and foot rims, covered in lustrous splashes of gold, the base with a four-character mark surrounded by two writhing dragons, the domed cover of basket-weave pattern.
27cm (10 5/8in) wide. (2).
Expertly cast with a compressed globular body with a lipped rim surrounded by a broad shoulder rising from a narrow foot, bands of lotus-petal lappets around the mouth and foot rims, covered in lustrous splashes of gold, the base with a four-character mark surrounded by two writhing dragons, the domed cover of basket-weave pattern.
27cm (10 5/8in) wide. (2).
Footnotes
十七/十八世紀 銅灑金缽式爐
「內壇郊社」款
The 'Neitan Jiaoshe' (內壇郊社) mark refers to the Inner Altar for Heaven and Earth within the Temple of Heaven's sacred precincts. This finely cast Imperial bronze incense burner was thus specifically commissioned for use in its solemn rituals. The 'gold-splash' decoration was achieved using a technique known as 'fire-gilding.' This method involved applying a mercury-gold amalgam to the surface, which was then heated to evaporate the mercury, leaving a thin layer of gold adhered to the base metal. The technique could be repeated multiple times to gradually build up a thicker layer of gold. For further reference, see R.Kerr, Later Chinese Bronzes, London, 1990, p.39. See a similar gold-splashed incense burner of alms bowl shape, Ming or early Qing dynasty, illustrated by G.Tsang and H.Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, no.229.
See also a very similar gold-splashed 'alms-bowl-shaped' incense burner, double vajra on the base, 18th century, from the collection of Mr and Mrs Soame Jenyns, illustrated in Oriental Ceramic Society, The Arts of the Ch'ing Dynasty, London, 1964, no.361.
Compare with a related bronze 'alms' bowl, Xuande six-character mark, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Bonhams London, 18 May 2023, lot 189.