QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
LENGTH (ACROSS HANDLES): 18CM
The exterior of the bombé-shaped censer is crisply carved in low relief with
a diaper band beneath a frieze of archaistic mythical beasts against a leiwen
ground, all flanked by a pair of loop handles issuing from animal masks. The
flared foot is similarly decorated with a band of taotie masks divided by short
vertical flanges. The bamboo patinated to a warm chestnut-brown tone, save for
the interior and base covered in a thin layer of lacquer.
Several examples of bamboo carvings imitating archaic bronze shapes exist
in the imperial collection. One such example is a bamboo ‘gu ’ carved in the
classic Shang dynasty bronze shape, illustrated in the National Palace Museum
publication Uncanny Ingenuity and Celestial Feats: The Carvings of Ming and
Qing Dynasties 匠心與仙工：明清雕刻展【竹木果核篇】, Taipei, 2009, pp. 73-74,
Catalogue No. 14. Another closely related tripod ding vessel, with comparable
treatment of a continuous diaper ground, is illustrated in The Palace Museum of
Elite Carvings 故宮雕刻珍萃, Beijing, 2002, p. 91, Catalogue No. 59.
| 清中期 竹雕仿古瑞獸紋簋式爐 |
