A large cloisonné incense burner and cover with auspicious characters


Xuande mark, 18th/19th centuryOf rectangular form, the sides of the censer and domed cover decorated with large fu (blessings)and lu (emoluments) characters, against a ground of small stylized shou (longevity) characters in gilt, the side of the overhanging lip decorated with a sawtooth band, the gilded base fitted with a circular disc bearing a six-character mark, the domed cover surmounted by a crouching lion, all supported on four gilded archaistic scroll-form legs.26in (66.2cm) high
|For comparable examples, see the censer and cover of almost identical size, decoration and with the lion finial facing right, offered in Sotheby's, London, 16 May 2007, lot 119, as Qianlong period (28 3/8in (72cm) high); and the second, with the lion finial facing left, sold at Christie's, New York, 20 October 2004, lot 1459, as late 18th/19th century (25 3/4in [65.5cm] high).