A LARGE CIRCULAR BRONZE WARMER AND RETICULATED COVER 18th century (2)A LARGE CIRCULAR BRONZE WARMER AND RETICULATED COVER18th centuryThe large body of compressed globular form applied with a pair of C-scroll handles, the cover exquisitely pierced with geometric patterns, the bronze of dark caramel-brown tone. 16cm (6 1/4in) wide. (2).Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價十八世紀 銅如意耳暖足爐帶蓋The present lot would have been used to keep the hands and feet warm during the winter months. The thin-walled buildings of southern China could become unpleasantly cold in winter, while the severe climate of the north and lack of cheap fuel meant that keeping warm was left to the individual. In Cao Xueqin's novel, The Story of the Stone, a maid rushes in with a hand warmer to bring to a chilled guest and becomes the focal point of a minor faux-pas; see Cao Xueqin, The Story of the Stone, vol.1, p.193. Thus we can see it was not usual to heat entire rooms or houses, even in very wealthy households. Compare with a related bronze foot-warmer and cover with a very similar geometric design known as 'fishnet' lid, but with single swing handle, late 16th century, illustrated by Sydney L.Moss Ltd., The Second Bronze Age: Later Chinese Metalwork, London, 1991, no.76.