11th Apr, 2024 11:00

TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism

 
Lot 75
 

75

A SAWASA GILT BRONZE CENSER WITH MATCHING HARDWOOD STAND, COVER AND WHITE JADE FINIAL, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

Sold for €18,200

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

Japan and China. Of lobed form, supported on three feet, flanked by a pair of gilt lion mask handles, the body decorated with lobed cartouches enclosing auspicious flowers, birds, and butterflies above a ring-punched ground, the body and neck finely incised with leafy vines.

The base and cover reticulated with scrolling vines, and the cover surmounted by a pale celadon jade figure of Shoulao holding a lingzhi cane and flanked by a deer and a crane. (4)

Provenance: From a noted French private collector.
Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear, light surface scratches, small nicks, few light dents, the finial reattached to the cover with remnants of adhesive. The preservation as a complete set must be regarded as extremely rare in this superb overall condition.

Weight: 564.4 g (the censer and cover)
Dimensions: Height 13.7 cm (excl. base), 16.4 cm (incl. base)

The fitted hardwood base and cover date to the mid to late Qing dynasty. The white jade handle dates to the 18th to 19th century.

Sawasa describes a distinctive style of metalwork produced in Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries. The base material was a copper-gold alloy, much like the Japanese shakudo. Sawasa articles usually appear in the form of all kinds of containers like tobacco boxes, but also cups and saucers, ewers, and other items for which the material is suited. The production of Sawasa items is primarily associated with Nagasaki, but various records suggest there was also production in both Canton (Guangzhou) and Tonkin (Hanoi). The clientele were mainly the Dutch colonial expat community, who commissioned these items for their own use and to some extent for trade with Europe.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related Sawasa ware teacup and saucer, dated 1731, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1984.233a, b.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s London, 19 December 2014, lot 36
Price: GBP 17,500 or approx. EUR 30,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Sawasa ware Shakudo and gilt copper coffee urn, Edo period (early 18th century)
Expert remark: Compare the material. Note the form and larger size (36.5 cm).

 

Japan and China. Of lobed form, supported on three feet, flanked by a pair of gilt lion mask handles, the body decorated with lobed cartouches enclosing auspicious flowers, birds, and butterflies above a ring-punched ground, the body and neck finely incised with leafy vines.

The base and cover reticulated with scrolling vines, and the cover surmounted by a pale celadon jade figure of Shoulao holding a lingzhi cane and flanked by a deer and a crane. (4)

Provenance: From a noted French private collector.
Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear, light surface scratches, small nicks, few light dents, the finial reattached to the cover with remnants of adhesive. The preservation as a complete set must be regarded as extremely rare in this superb overall condition.

Weight: 564.4 g (the censer and cover)
Dimensions: Height 13.7 cm (excl. base), 16.4 cm (incl. base)

The fitted hardwood base and cover date to the mid to late Qing dynasty. The white jade handle dates to the 18th to 19th century.

Sawasa describes a distinctive style of metalwork produced in Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries. The base material was a copper-gold alloy, much like the Japanese shakudo. Sawasa articles usually appear in the form of all kinds of containers like tobacco boxes, but also cups and saucers, ewers, and other items for which the material is suited. The production of Sawasa items is primarily associated with Nagasaki, but various records suggest there was also production in both Canton (Guangzhou) and Tonkin (Hanoi). The clientele were mainly the Dutch colonial expat community, who commissioned these items for their own use and to some extent for trade with Europe.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related Sawasa ware teacup and saucer, dated 1731, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1984.233a, b.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s London, 19 December 2014, lot 36
Price: GBP 17,500 or approx. EUR 30,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Sawasa ware Shakudo and gilt copper coffee urn, Edo period (early 18th century)
Expert remark: Compare the material. Note the form and larger size (36.5 cm).

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