AN UNUSUAL ‘ARCHAISTIC’ BRONZE CENSER, 17TH-18TH CENTURY OR EARLIER China. Of bombé form, supported on a short spreading foot, with an everted rim, the waisted neck set with a distinct pair of lion-head handles and a narrow band enclosing four archaistic birds on a leiwen ground, the foot with a leiwen band. The base is finely cast with a six-character mark da Ming Xuande nianzhi.

Provenance: Collection of Åke Virgin, thence by descent. The base with an old paper label, ‘Ming Hsüan-Te 1426-1435’, and inscribed ‘79.’. Åke Virgin (1891-1978) was a Swedish civil engineer who took a keen interest in Chinese art, especially early bronzes, building a fine collection between the 1940s and 1970s. He was an active member of the Friends of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. Åke Virgin had numerous discussions with and took advice from notable Swedish academics such as Professor Bernhard Karlgren and Orvar Karlbeck.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and casting flaws, few minuscule nicks and light scratches, fine dark patina.

Expert’s note: As Åke Virgin wrote on the paper label located on the base of this lot, it is indeed possible that this censer dates to ‘Ming Hsüan-Te 1426-1435’. The small vessel is of such detailed yet elegant appearance, the bands are so neatly incised and closely executed after their archaic models, that there is a (very) distant chance that this belongs to a small group of 15^th century pieces, after which the many later incense burners were made.

Weight: 394.4 g
Dimensions: Diameter 11 cm (at the widest points)

十七至十八世紀或更早仿古鳥紋銅香爐
中國。爐呈簋式，撇口，束頸，鼓腹下收，承外撇圈足。頸部雲雷紋地飾鳥紋，兩側對稱置雙獅首為耳，足部雲雷紋。地足六字款“大明宣德年製“。

來源：Åke Virgin收藏, 保存至今。底部可見舊時紙標籤“Ming Hsüan-Te 1426-1435” 與“79”字樣。Åke Virgin (1891-1978) 是一位瑞典土木工程師，對中國藝術、尤其是對早期青銅器有著濃厚的興趣。他在1940 至 1970 年代間構建了自己的收藏。他是斯德哥爾摩東亞美術館舘友協會非常活躍的成員。 Åke Virgin 與著名的瑞典學者（如 Bernhard Karlgren 教授和 Orvar Karlbeck）進行了多次討論並聽取了他們的建議。
品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損和鑄造瑕疵，有微小的刻痕和輕微的劃痕，細膩的深色包漿。

重量：394.4 克
尺寸：直徑11 厘米 (最寬處)