A LONGQUAN TRIPOD CENSER, SOUTHERN SONG China, 1127-1279. Of classic tripod form with low raised flanges rising up the outer sides of each leg to a band around the shoulder of the compressed globular body, applied overall with an infinitely subtle bluish-green celadon glaze.

Condition: Three small chips along the rim, minor wear, firing flaws, otherwise in good condition.
Provenance: E.W. Hendriks Oriental Art, Amsterdam. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above in 1997 (invoice not available). Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in “Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond”. Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch.

Weight: 228.7 g
Dimensions: Diameter 9.5 cm

Small incense burners, along with writing and painting utensils such as ink stone, dropper, brush holder, seal and paper weight, were among the ‘literati objects’ that could be found on a scholar’s desk. The smoke rising from it referred to the spiritual (qi). The blue-green color of the glaze mimicked jade, a material that has traditionally been associated with the spiritual as well. All this made a celadon incense burner a suitable gift for a civil servant.

Literature comparison: Kristian Jacobsen and Charles E. Buckley, Chinese Ceramics of the Sung Dynasty, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1959, pl. 34. Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong 1994, no. 56, p. 149. Guan Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei 1989, no. 31, p. 73. Chinese Ceramics Song-Yuan, Taipei 1997, p. 418. Orientations, March 1998, p. 67.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a near-identical piece sold by Sotheby’s London in Important Chinese Art on 15 May 2019, lot 1, for GBP £25,000.

龍泉三足爐，南宋
中國，1127-1279。經典三足爐，形體優雅，爐身上施淺藍綠色青釉。

品相：外緣三個小開片, 輕微磨損, 燒製瑕疵,整體品相良好
來源：阿姆斯特丹E.W. Hendriks Oriental Art收藏。Drs. Koos de Jong1997年購於上述收藏 (發票已遺失)。Drs. Koos de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家，幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。

重量：228.7 克
尺寸：直徑9.5 厘米

拍賣結果比較：一件幾乎一模一樣的三足爐于2019年5月15日倫敦蘇富比《重要中國藝術》拍號1，成交價GBP £25,000.