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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Ancient Art / Ancient Chinese
A Rare Painted Grey Pottery ‘Boshanlu’ Incense Burner and Cover Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) Finely modelled in grey earthenware, the incense burner is raised on a tall, spreading pedestal foot supporting a deep hemispherical bowl. The fitted domed cover is dramatically moulded in the form of a mountainous landscape, with overlapping craggy peaks rising towards a prominent central summit. The surface retains extensive traces of its original polychrome decoration, including vivid iron-red pigment highlighting the mountain peaks and horizontal bands around the vessel and stem, together with darker grey-black painted details. The combination of the grey pottery body and surviving burial pigments gives the piece a particularly evocative archaeological character. The mountain-form cover identifies the vessel with the celebrated boshanlu, or “universal mountain” incense burner, a form closely associated with Han dynasty funerary and cosmological imagery. Such mountain censers are generally understood to represent the mythical sacred mountains or paradisiacal realms inhabited by immortals. When incense was burned within the vessel, smoke would have emerged around the mountainous cover, creating the impression of peaks enveloped in clouds and mist. The burner survives with its original separate cover and retains an old Peter and Mary White Collection label. Height: approximately 21 cm. Provenance: The Peter and Mary White Collection of Chinese Art. Bonhams, London, A Life in Ceramics: The Peter and Mary White Collection of Chinese Art, Part IV Condition: Good condition considering the age. Extensive ancient surface wear, burial encrustation and losses to the original pigments, entirely consistent with an excavated Han dynasty pottery object. Original red and darker painted decoration remains clearly visible. Please refer closely to the photographs. -Premium Authenticity Guarantee – Becker Antiques (Established 1966) This is a high-value artwork, selected with the utmost care by Becker Antiques, a gallery founded in 1966 and based in a historic five-storey mansion in Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter. Every premium piece we offer undergoes a rigorous authentication process based on nearly 60 years of specialist expertise. This includes: • Detailed stylistic and typological analysis • Assessment of condition, surface, and age-related characteristics • Comparative research with museum and literature examples We guarantee that this object is genuine, original, and exactly as described, with no modern, altered, or assembled elements unless clearly mentioned in the listing. Becker Antiques is trusted by museums, collectors, and institutions worldwide. Each premium item is chosen for its authenticity, historical integrity, and exceptional quality. For serious collectors or institutions wishing to receive additional documentation, we are always happy to assist. Shipping The figure will be professionally packed and dispatched in a custom wooden crate within three working days, shipped by FedEx with full insurance.
Estimate:£1,528.97
To the auctionView all items fromCatawikiorAncient Art
Estimate:
£1,528.97
OCT 8 | 3:00 PM
OCT 8 | 3:00 PM
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