Description：AN IVORY FIGURE OF A LADY HOLDING A CENSER, LATE MING DYNASTY China, 17th century. Finely carved standing, wearing a long flowing robe with wide sleeves opening at the chest revealing beaded jewelry, her hands clasped together at the front supporting a tripod censer on a distinct lotus-pod base, her face with a serene expression. Provenance: From a French private collection. Condition: The censer and lotus-pod base with a small loss and associated old fill and touchups, otherwise in good condition with old wear, minor losses and a large number of natural age cracks. Fine honey-golden patina. Weight: 335.3 g (incl. stand) Dimensions: Height 21.4 cm (excl. stand) and 24.3 cm (incl. stand) Firmly attached to a carved wooden stand raised on four supports. (2) Expert's note: Carved ivory figures of this type, dating from the late Ming dynasty and sporting objects intended for medicinal (or ritual) use, such as the present lot, are extremely rare and almost never appear on the auction market. When they do, such figures command high results, especially when compared directly to their emptyhanded counterparts (see Auction result comparison). Auction result comparison: Compare a related carved ivory female figure, also dated to the 17th century and holding a pestle and mortar in her hands, at Christie's London in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 10 May 2011, lot 48, sold for GBP 73,250. This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore this item can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person. 明末象牙雕持香爐婦人像 中國, 十七世紀。雕工精巧，婦人優美地身穿長袍，胸前佩戴珠飾，雙手蓮座上的香爐，面容安詳。 來源：法國私人收藏 品相：香爐和蓮座有少量缺損與填充和修飾；其他狀況良好，磨損、輕微缺損和大量自然老化裂縫。細膩的蜜色包漿。 重量：335.3 克 (含底座) 尺寸：高 21.4 厘米 (不含底座)，縂 24.3 厘米 固定在四足圓木底座上。(2) 專家注釋：明末此類象牙雕象經常被用於藥用（或祭祀），幾乎從未出現在拍賣市場上。 一旦出現，拍賣結果將會非常好，尤其是與空手的人像直接比較時（參見拍賣結果比較）。 拍賣結果比較：比較一件象牙雕刻婦人像，十七世紀 ，手持杵和研缽，見倫敦佳士得Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2011年5月10日 lot 48, 售價GBP 73,250。