A GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE TRIPOD 'C'-SHAPED HANDLED INCENSE BURNER LATE MING DYNASTY

of archaistic ding form, sturdily cast with a compressed globular body resting on three cabriole legs, each with a stylised ruyi bloom to the bulging upper section, the sides flanked by a pair of C-shaped handles, each with a ribbed outer surface pierced with a lobed cartouche and ending with a defined lobed upper edge decorated with ruyi scrolls, the body bordered with eight studs, each with a central medallion wreathed by scrollwork, the base centred with a recessed cartouche enclosing an apocryphal six-character Xuande mark, the vessel decorated overall save for the interior and mark with attractive gold splashes
28.6 cm, 11 1/4 in.

Provenance:
Sotheby's London, 4th May 1984, lot 443.