A RARE 'FOREIGNER TRIBUTE-BEARERS' BRONZE INCENSE BURNER Xuande cast six-character mark, 17th centuryA RARE 'FOREIGNER TRIBUTE-BEARERS' BRONZE INCENSE BURNERXuande cast six-character mark, 17th centuryCast with plain slightly tapering sides rising from four bracket feet, the handles formed as a pair of turbaned Western Asiatic figures carrying the rectangular vessel, with bulging eyes and bushy beards and brows, the ears with large earrings, their squat bodies clad with billowing scarves and tunics. 20.3 cm (8in) wide.Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價十七世紀 銅雙胡人托長方形爐 「大明宣德年製」楷書款Figures of foreigners depicted with large round eyes and bushy eyebrows have been a popular subject in Chinese art dating from at least the Tang period, when the increased presence of foreigners in China prompted a new fascination and a gradual stylisation of the image of the foreigner in Chinese art. Painters of Buddhist luohan and tribute missions to the Imperial Court continued the fascination with the exotic in subsequent periods.The strong facial features, curly beards and hair closely resemble four small foreigners with bare chests kneeling to support a gilt bronze and cloisonné enamel incense of burner, late Ming dynasty: see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Metal-Bodied Enamel Ware, Beijing, 2011, p.273, no.144.