A BRONZE INCENSE STICK HOLDER

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Height: 10.8cm

The bronze is cast in the form of Kui Xing, the patron deity for scholars taking the imperial examinations, turning backward with his left leg raised holding a brush and an ingot-shaped inkcake, standing dynamically on a tapered pedestal next to a thin hollowed cylindrical tube for incense sticks. The bronze is deeply patinated to a dark brown colour.

SIMILAR EXAMPLE
An ivory example of a Kui Xing sculpture in the same posture is illustrated in 竹木 牙角器珍賞 zhumu yajiao qizhen shang, 1995, p. 97, Catalogue No. 119

明代　銅魁星形香插