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Lot 269
A LARGE PAIR OF BRONZE ALTAR CANDLESTICKS OF TRIPOD FORM
Estimated Value:
3.000 € - 5.000 €
Result:
9.065 € incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
China, cast donor inscription liao yan zhi, Ming dynasty, ca. 16th c.H. 50 cm
Altough cast in one piece, this rare pair of candlesticks can be visually separated into smaller sculptural units which build up to form onr harmonious ensemble. The lower sections consists of a strong and weighty support modelled as three dragon heads devouring their own tails. On this bases lions supporting a vase are placed with an arrangement of lotus flowers from which the central pricket emerges. A cast donor’s inscription is placed on the reverse sides of the bases.
Old North German private collection, sold Lempertz Cologne, 26.5.1995, lot 12 and bought by the present owner
While at that time the West was using coal to light the houses, China was already breeding small worm that used to live in a tree called Pelachou meaning “the white wax tree”. These animals were producing a hard shiny wax of a far better quality than the bee wax and in fact it was far more expensive. This way of producing white wax was described in Histoire Générale des Voyages published in 1769. It was usual to use a reed as a wick. Candlesticks of that type were used in pairs a spart of a formal arrangement in worship and were placed on either side of a central incense burner. For a similar example see Münsterberg ‚Chinesische Kunstgeschichte‘, Esslingen, 1912, Vol. II, p. 145, illustration 243b. A bronze candlestickof similar date with related tripod legs is illustrated by Michael Goedhuis ‚Chinese and Japanese Bronzes, A.D. 1100 - 1900‘, London 1989, no. 54 - Minor traces of age, prickets replaced
