17TH CENTURY
LENGTH (ACROSS HANDLES): 18.8CM; WEIGHT: 926G
The censer is of compressed bombé section flanked by loop handles and rests on a flared foot. The sides are cast and gilt with flowering peony bushes on a silver ground, while the handles are decorated with a stylised peony leaf design. The base is gilt in silver and decorated with an apocryphical 大明宣德年製 ‘Da Ming Xuande Nianzhi’ mark within a rectangular cartouche on the base. The words ‘ALPH GIROUX PARIS’ are etched upside down above the Xuande mark.
The ‘Alph Giroux’ inscription refers to François-Simon-Alphonse Giroux, a Parisbased French art restorer and cabinet maker active in the late 18th to 19th century and was one of the official restorers of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He established Maison Alphonse Giroux in 1799 and aside from selling his cabinetmaking works, he also sold a variety of luxury goods and artwork, which attracted clientele including French royalty and nobility.
PROVENANCE
François-Simon-Alphonse Giroux, Paris (1775/6-1848)
十七世紀 銅鎏金嵌銀牡丹紋香爐
