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Tripod Censer with Chi-Dragon Handles and Lion-Dog Knop on Openwork Cover

Culture
Chinese
Date
17th century
Material
Bronze
from
China, Asia
Classification
Containers, metalwork
Collection
Asian Art
Current Location
Not on view
Dimensions
20 1/2 x 17 in. (52.1 x 43.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert E. Kresko
Rights
Public Domain
Object Number
8:2005a,b
NOTES
Later Chinese bronzes, like this one, often re-call the shape and design of vessels from the 7th through 6th century BCE.

Bronze casting in China was a complex mixture of art and artifice. New bronzes might be ordered to look old, and artists might make a reproduction bronze similar to an original ancient model in nearly every detail, including corrosion and patina.

The robust corporeal character of this censer is in accord with Ming sculptural style: heavy, earthbound, and solid. The lightness and fluidity of the openwork design on the cover and the lively expressions of the lion-dog knob and feline handles relieve the heaviness of the somber, pot-bellied vessel. The incense burner is corroded a green-grey, but there are patches of a fine brown that suggest its original color.

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