AN ARCHAISTIC BAMBOO ‘GUI’ CENSER

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.