QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Censers of this type not only served as an important part of the palace furnishing, they were also used in rituals, banquets and imperial ceremonies. The compressed shape of the present censer is somewhat unusual; the archaistic fangding shape can be more commonly found in cloisonné enamel of the Qianlong period. The style of blade-form legs with upper gilt-bronze figural elements can be found on censers of varying shapes from this period. See a large globular censer with similar blade-form legs but with dragon heads instead of the stylized animal heads seen on the present censer, illustrated by Zhang Xin, ed., in Colorful, Elegant and Exquisite, A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Ware from Mr. Robert Chang’s Collection, Suzhou, 2007, no. 56.