J.J. Lally & Co., Oriental Art / New York City, New York
MenuPast Exhibition
Chinese Art from the Scholar’s Studio
March 13 - April 11, 2015
49.
A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE ‘ALMS BOWL’ CENSER
17th Century
with steeply rounded sides curved in to a wide mouth with lipped rim and tapered to a flat foot, embellished with gold splashes all over the richly patinated coppery-brown exterior, with two characters in gilt on the slightly recessed base: 宝用 bao yong, which may be translated as “for treasured use.”
Diameter 4 1⁄8 inches (10.5 cm)
Provenance
Shuisongshi Shanfang Collection
Published
Tsang and Moss, Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, Fung Ping Shan Museum, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1986, pp. 238-239, no. 229
In the catalogue entry published for this censer in Arts from the Scholar’s Studio, the authors propose that the alms bowl form was chosen because the association of this shape with mendicant Buddhist monks who care nothing for wealth and power and live in rustic simplicity, seeking enlightenment, was an idealized image with great appeal for the Chinese scholar. In the same caption the authors note that the inscription bao yong on the base of the censer echoes the inscriptions often seen on ancient Chinese bronzes, invoking the wish for the ritual vessel to be used and forever cherished by future generations.
十七世紀 《宝用》銘 銅灑金缽式爐 徑 10.5 厘米
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