A MASSIVE SILVER-INLAID BRONZE CENSER, SHISOU MARK China, 17^th-18^th century. The heavily cast bombé body supported on a spreading foot and rising to a slightly everted rim, the shoulder set with two loop handles, the exterior finely inlaid in silver wire with sinuously coiled dragons dividing capitals in the form of lotus flowers reminiscent of the Old Summer Palace (yuanmingyuan). The base with a silver-inlaid two-character Shisou mark.

Provenance: The Mee-Din and Robert W. Moore Collection. Robert W. Moore is a famed California collector of Chinese and Korean art, whose passion began in the 1950s when he served in the US Army and was stationed in Korea. After his return to the United States, he began collecting Korean and later also Chinese works of art, and over the following decades became a very knowledgeable, discerning, and influential collector.
Condition: Very good condition with only minor wear and casting irregularities, minuscule nicks, light scratches, the interior with extensive traces of use. Magnificent, natural patina overall.

Weight: 2,903 g
Dimensions: Width 26.7 cm (across handles)

Little is known about the historic figure Shisou. The earliest reference in the Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian ('Dictionary of Chinese Artists') comes from the Luochuang xiaodu and is presumably from the same source as published in Zhongguo yishujia zhenglue ('Brief Introduction of Chinese Artists). Shisou is listed there only as a late Ming dynasty monk without any further biographical information. A number of vessels and sculptures from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century bear his name, sometimes in combination with a hall name, Jinyu tang (‘Hall of Prosperity’).

Auction result comparison: Compare a related silver-inlaid bronze censer, 11.5 cm high, also with a Shisou mark, at Christie’s Hong Kong in The Pavilion Sale on 6 October 2015, lot 171, sold for HKD 62,500. Compare a related silver-inlaid bronze censer, 7.6 cm across, also with a Shisou mark, at Christie’s Hong Kong in Chinese Art on 12 April 2018, lot 36, sold for HKD 62,500.

石叟款錯銀銅爐
中國，十七至十八世紀。造型莊重典雅，厚口平直微敞，垂腹豐腴，兩側置圓耳，耳環上端有一角上翹，圈足。爐身錯銀以卷葉蓮紋的形式描繪了蜿蜒盤繞的龍紋。底座上可見錯銀“石叟“款。

來源: Mee-Din 與Robert W. Moore 中國漆器收藏。Robert W. Moore是加州著名的中國和韓國藝術收藏家，他的收藏熱情始於 1950 年代。當時他在美國軍隊服役並駐紮在韓國。回到美國後，他開始收藏韓國和中國的藝術品，尤其是漆器，在之後幾十年裡，他成為了一位知識淵博、眼光敏銳、影響深遠的收藏家。
品相: 狀況極好，輕微磨損和鑄造瑕疵，微小的刻痕和輕微的劃痕，內部有大量使用痕跡。整體包漿自然。

重量: 2,903 克
尺寸: 寬26.7 厘米 (兩耳之間)

拍賣結果比較: 比較一件相近的石叟款錯銀銅爐，高11.5 厘米，見香港佳士得The Pavilion Sale 2015年10月6日 lot 171, 售價HKD 62,500；另一件相近的石叟款錯銀銅爐，兩耳之間7.6 厘米，見香港佳士得Chinese Art 2018年4月12日 lot 36, 售價HKD 62,500。