A FINE BRONZE CENSER WITH LOOP HANDLES

Description:

China, four-character mark Neitian jiao she encircled by a pair of dragons to base, Ming dynasty
B. 19,2 cm
The well cast cense formed with a flat rim, curving loop handles, bombé walls and spreading foot surrounding the recessed base bearing a four-character mark encrcled by a pair of dragons, the surfaces covered with a brown patina splashed with red-brown spots. Weight: 919 gr.
Laurent Claire Collection, acquired on 24.5.1975 in the Galeria Dell'Angelo in Lugano, by descent within the family (documention preserved)
Compare a very similar shaped censer with a Neitian jiao she mark encircled by two dragons, preserved in the collection of the Palace Museum Beijing, published ‚Splendors from the Yongle and Xuande Reigns Of China’s Ming Dynasty‘, Classics of the Forbidden City, Palace Museum Beijing, 2012, no. 142 - Very minor traces of age