A RARE BRONZE 'ELEPHANT-HEAD' TRIPOD INCENSE BURNERCast Xuande six-character mark, 17th centuryThe deeply cast vessel rising from three elephant-head feet to a wide flaring mouth, the side flanked by a pair of reticulated ingot-shaped handles, the flat base with a recessed rectangular cartouche enclosing an apocryphal Xuande six-character mark, the bronze patinated to a golden reddish-brown colour.20.5cm (8in) wideProvenance: 十七世紀 銅元寶耳象首三足爐陽文「大明宣德年製」楷書款Provenance:Collection of Soame Jenyns (1904-1976), by repute London, 10 November 2011, lot 518來源:傳英國學者詹甯斯Soame Jenyns(1904-1976年)舊藏倫敦邦瀚斯，2011年11月10日，拍品518Incense burners of this form and size are relatively rare.pare a similar example sold at Christie's New York, 15 September 2011, lot 894, and another example sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 6 April 2016, lot 3681. Incense burners of this form are also seen in cloisonné enamel wares: see a 15th century example sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 22 April 2021, lot 3664.此銅爐撇口，兩側飾透雕元寶形如意紋耳，平底，底承三個象首足，底款「大明宣德年製」楷書款。此爐造型新穎別緻，工藝精美，置於書房案頭上，趣味橫生，為銅香爐中的精品。類似的銅爐非常罕見，對比紐約佳士得售出一例，2011年9月15日，拍品894。再參考一例售於香港蘇富比，2016年4月6日，拍品3681。同造型之香爐亦見於掐絲琺瑯器，見香港蘇富比售出一件十五世紀香爐，2021年4月22日，拍品3664。