A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE 'ALMS' BOWL Xuande six-character mark, 17th/18th centuryA GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE 'ALMS' BOWLXuande six-character mark, 17th/18th century Expertly cast with a compressed globular body with a lipped rim surrounded by a broad shoulder rising from a narrow foot, covered in lustrous gold splashes, the flat base with an inset six-character mark, the bronze with dark chocolate-brown patina. 12.5cm (5in) diam.十七/十八世紀 銅灑金缽式爐「大明宣德年製」楷書款Despite its shape as an 'alms' bowl, its gold splashes and flat base hint that the present lot was used as an incense burner. The alms bowl, used by wandering Buddhist monks, however, carried with it a symbolism of having left the dusty realm of illusory dreams and ambitions. Similarly, the idealised literatus was a man who scorned the material world. A vessel such as the present lot combines Buddhist symbolism with the archaic meaning of gold-splashed bronzes to create a subtle statement of literati values. See a similar gold-splashed incense burner of alms bowl shape, Ming or early Qing dynasty, illustrated by G.Tsang and H.Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, no.229.public_sentiment_keywords: Bronze + xu ** bronze + xu ** Bronze ** bronzeis_parse: 20230413image: yuzhan_bonhams_item/51930828.jpgsold_price_type: £