Extraordinary celadon jade Lotus censer. Finest celadon jade covered censer craved by smooth crafts master, bulbous body, deep vessel, with wide opening mouth, compressed globular body, banded on the fillet, raised on splayed foot base. Having domed lid with round bud finial like peach fruit ripe. The peach finial bud is centered on the dome lid with evenly spaced gaps all the way around allowing for the users fingers to comfortably rest on the edges. Emerged flanked four ears handles suspending free ring on fourth corners of the wind sides. One of the most popular Feng Shui fruit symbols, peach is the symbol of immortality. The peach is also known in Feng Shui as the fruit of heaven because of its prominence in many ancient Chinese legends about the Immortal Gods. Peach came to be associated with wealth, health, abundance and longevity. The peach is also known as a Feng Shui symbol of love and marriage. In China, "love luck" is often referred to as "peach blossoms luck. The exterior belly carved in a smooth nephrite jade, with big lotus flowers blossom oval stands wrap the censer from the foot base to upper mouth rim. All reserved in jade stone showing pale white-cream celadon color iridescent with displays smooth and beautiful clean translucent even tone, moist milky appearance natural inclusion along the surfaces. The carving are superb, finely polished plain exterior, simply design yet elegant. Jade, as a stone, has five virtues. Its glossiness and warmth is like benevolence. Because inside and outside is the same, so that knowing the outside one knows the inside, this may be likened to righteousness. Its far-reaching sound (when struck) may be heard from afar, like wisdom. It is not easily bent, but can be broken, which may be likened to courage. Jade relates to such virtues as benevolence, wisdom, righteousness, propriety, loyalty, and trustworthiness, and it also corresponds to the ways of the heaven and earth. A portion of this high-grade Jade is considered quite rare. Expert workmanship is the absolute highlight of this gorgeous censer.


Measurements: Height 4-1/4" Width: 4-1/4"
Weight: 488g

Stand Width: 2-1/4" Width: 3-1/4"

Lot Notes:

The history of censers in Chinese culture probably began in the late Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–256 BCE). The Chinese words meaning "censer" are compounds of lu ("brazier; stove; furnace"), which originated as a type of Chinese bronze. Xianglu (with "incense") "incense burner; censer" is the most common term. Xunlu (with "smoke; fumigate; cure (food) with smoke", with "fragrance; an aromatic grass") means "small censer. Shoulu (with "hand") means "hand-held censer; handwarmer". The boshanlu ("universal mountain censer" or boshan Xianglu) or hill censer, which became popular during the era of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE), displayed a microcosmic sacred mountain (esp. Mount Kunlun or Mount Penglai). These elaborate censers were designed with apertures that made rising incense smoke appear like clouds or mist swirling around a mountain peak The Han Dynasty scholar Liu Xiang wrote a (c. 40 BCE) boshanlu inscription. I value this perfect utensil, lofty and steep as a mountain! Its top is like Hua Shan in yet its foot is a bronze plate. It contains rare perfumes, red flames and green smoke; densely ornamented are its sides, and its summit joins azure heaven. A myriad animals are depicted on it. Ah, from it sides I can see ever further than Li Lou, Archeologists excavated many (c. second century BCE) boshanlu at Mawangdui, and some contained the remains of ashes. Analysis revealed aromatic plants such as maoxiang ("Imperata cylindrical, thatch grass"), galvanizing ("Galangal"), xinyi ("Magnolia Lili flora, Mulan magnolia), and gaoben ("Ligusticum sinense, Chinese lovage"). Scholars presume burning these grasses "may have facilitated communication with spirits" during funeral ceremonies. Thus all in all there is much reason for thinking that the ancient Taoists experimented systematically with hallucinogenic smokes, using techniques which arose directly out of liturgical observance. At all events the incense-burner remained the center of changes and transformations associated with worship, sacrifice, ascending perfume of sweet savor, fire, combustion, disintegration, transformation, vision, communication with spiritual beings, and assurances of immortality. Wai tan and nei tan met around the incense-burner. Might one not indeed think of it as their point of origin? These Waidan ("outer alchemy") and neidan ("inner alchemy") are the primary divisions of Chinese alchemy.