A VERY RARE LONGQUAN CELADON 'LION' INCENSE BURNER AND COVERYuan/Ming DynastyThepressed globular body rising from three tapering feet to an everted mouth rim, flanked by a pair of upright loop handles, covered overall in a crackled translucent jade-green glaze, the cover deftly modelled in the form of a Buddhist lion, silver cover, Japanese wood box.14cm (5 1/2in) highProvenance: 元/明 龍泉窯青瓷蹲獅鈕蓋香爐Provenance:Collection of Suiseikyo, by repute (box label)Collection of Suiseicharyou, by repute (box label)來源：傳翠青居舊藏（內盒標籤）傳醉星茶療遞藏（外箱標籤）The present lot is unique in design with the lion-shaped knob and outstanding in execution showcasing the craftsman at the Longquan kilns in Zhejiang province in the Yuan and Ming dynasties with inventive moulded and applied decoration.Compare two related examples of Longquan celadon incense burners also decorated with a lion-form knob in museum collections including a Longquan celadon tripod incense burner, early Ming dynasty, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated inLongquan of the World: Longquan Celadon and Globalisation. Vol.I. A History of Thousands of Years, Beijing, 2019, pp.214-215, pl.134; and a Ming dynasty example, seeIllustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum: Chinese Ceramics II, Tokyo, 1990, p.132, pl.515.本拍品圓口折沿，兩側立雙沖天耳，下方內束短頸，圓扁腹鼓起，腹底等距置三實足，造型別緻，著釉細膩，整體比例清新素雅，具有素淨幽深的文人氣質。爐口置鈕蓋，鈕呈蹲獅的形象模樣。通體施青釉，釉色灰青，開片點綴於器全身，形成自然美感的細緻紋飾。後配銀蓋，日本木盒及外箱。參考兩件博物館藏龍泉窯青瓷蹲獅鈕蓋香爐：一件為清宮舊藏，定代明早期，器型與蹲獅鈕的威武姿態皆可資比較，見《天下龍泉：龍泉青瓷與全球化（卷一·千年龍泉）》，頁214-215，圖版134；另參考東京國立美術館藏一例，定為明代，見《Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum: Chinese Ceramics II》，東京，1990年，頁132，圖版515。