MING DYNASTY, 16TH- EARLY 17TH CENTURY

A related cloisonné enamel censer, featuring the same gilt-bronze feet and handles but decorated with cranes amidst clouds, is illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, Zurich, 1989, no. 56, where it is dated to the first half of the 16th century. Closely related handles can also be seen on an early Ming drum-shaped cloisonné censer in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Metal-Bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 17, no. 15.

Compare a similar cloisonné censer sold at Christie's New York, 15 September 2011, lot 1203, and another sold at Christie’s Paris, 19 December 2012, lot 18.