Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Chinese: Metalwork (35)

Guanyin in cast bronze. The deity is represented standing, wearing a long dress, she holds a bottle in her hand. The bronze is very worn but has a superb old patina. Northern China Tang dynasty. 7th-9th century.It was soldered late with tin on a square bronze base so that it could stand upright. Height: 135mm

part of a lance? of a chariot? in bronze inlaid with gold and silver.Lacquer traces. Part of highly oxidized iron. Beautiful natural antique patina on the bronze. Nice work in fair condition. 102x23mm

Cast bronze mirror holder representing a Ki-Lin. The fabulous Chinese animal is surrounded by sparks, it carries a cloud on its back which is used to hold a removable mirror, which has now disappeared. The unusually small dimension leads one to assume that this is a travel mirror holder? The animal is lying down and the sculptor has modeled an exaggeratedly wide hindquarters to give good stability to the whole. The way of treating the creature's face is unusual, it does not correspond to the Chinese style of the Ming or Qing dynasties. It could be a bronze from the Yuan period with Mongolian influence. The superb centuries-old patina of the bronze would confirm this earlier period. Some small accidents. 102x60mm ​

Small cast bronze incense burner. Ding (tripod) shape. Beautiful casting and neat finish. The sobriety of the decor and the perfection of the volumes giving this small creation a powerful yet elegant appearance suggest that it is a very old censer, probably from the Song period. An excellent very old patina stained with verdigris in places would be compatible with this earlier period. Height 82mm. Fine condition.

Very red cast bronze censer,rich copper alloy. Partially gilded with mercury.The body is very thick,the object is heavy.The carving of the details is deep and it seems that the decor is entirely sculpted without prior molding which is quite unusual. Honestly I hesitate as to the construction technique.At first I thought it was a repoussé work but the metal is much too thick and the examination of the interior leads us to think that it was rather casted and ciseled. The handles are made apart and welded.The decor is drawn with energy,the dragons are powerful.The patina is natural and antique which guarantees an old object and not a recent fake. The mark of Xuande is incised below the base but it is certainly aprocryphal, because it would imply that it is an imperial censer but the 5 dragons represented all have only 4 claws. It is consistent to date it from the end of the Ming to the beginning of the Qing, 17th century. Some deformations, wear and dents due to the malleability of the copper metal but easy to straighten. Gilding normally worn with use. Original patina. No restorations. Width 23cm.

An absolutely exceptional and unique object, a pagoda roof in cast bronze, very heavy, gilded and inlaid with glass paste. If there are some rare examples of Chinese gilded bronzes inlaid with hard stones and some even rarer inlaid with transparent glass, to my knowledge we do not know of any other inlaid with glass paste. Here the glass imitates perfectly the white jade, the lapis lazuli, the ruby, the green jadeite emerald. The use of glass paste in 18th century China is not a depreciative element, on the contrary, at that time it was easier and less expensive to cut stones. The gilding is with hot mercury. It is very thick of excellent quality, certainly many layers.The interior laquered in red gilded with gold powder. It is certainly an imperial order and the base is probably marked on the front, Kien-Long. The goal is to try to reunite the three elements that history has dispersed. Either by selling the roof or by buying the base and the column. Height: 12cm Diameter 14,5cm

Cast bronze censer. Thick and heavy. It rests on 4 feet. The simply twisted handles seem to be part of the one and the same casting which would be a technical feat because I don't see any traces or rivets or welds. A frieze of stylized flowers surrounds the upper body. On the front part, the prestigious mark of Emperor Xuande cast in high relief is probably apocryphal. The exterior of the censer must have been regularly cleaned because the metal bears no patina except in the hollows of the patterns which are inaccessible to the cleaning cloth, on the other hand the interior shows us a beautiful very old patina. Despite the simplicity of the decor, this censer is very elegant and of good quality. Probably Chinese work from the 17th century. High: 128mm Weight: 750g Bon état,pas de restauration.

This form of jug called a monk's cap is of Tibetan origin. The model was adopted in China from the beginning of the 15th century and very appreciated. Monks' cap jugs were made of porcelain. They are always of good quality. The example presented here is made of thick bronze (yellow copper alloy). I don't think it's cast but rather hammered bronze.The border of the top in strong relief would indicate a cast bronze. But it is not certain. The body seems casted and the handle and the foot seem hammered. Under the foot we can see traces of turning tools. Which does not help us much because the beautiful finish of a circular bronze was sometimes done on the lathe, whether the part was cast or hammered. The object is very old 18 ° or before. The handle was repaired with a bronze sleeve but that was a very long time ago because a strong old patina also covers the sleeve. I am not an expert in Tibetan art but I think that the craftsmen of Tibet like rather used copper,for jugs plates or vases, much easier to hammer. Ming period China or Tibet? H: 17cm. Usual wear and small accidents of centuries use

An amusing and very rare lantern in cast bronze, decorated in light relief with stylized cicada in the archaic style. The rear part cut out by crosses the front part open for the use of candles or oil lamp. The cast iron is of good quality and the finish is neat. The patina is very beautiful and guarantees the age of the object. I think it's a Chinese work but I have a doubt, it could be Japanese. If it's Japanese it is much rarer although less fashionable than Chinese. The simplicity, the powerful shape and the beautiful patina remind me of the Chinese Ming period which would correspond to the Japanese Muromachi-Momoyama period. 16-17th century. 155 x 85 mm. Weigth: 450g Fine condition.

The vase is cast in one piece. Inspired by archaic Chinese bronze ritual vessels, it bears a Taotie mask decoration. This decoration is reduced to two narrow bands instead of occupying more space as usually on the bronzes of the Ming period, this more austere character, the slender shape and the patina with a much more antique aspect allows us to think so. older, probably from the Song period or earlier. The base split on one side as shown in the photos. No welding, no hammering, no restoration. Below an antique verdigris patina. Height:26cm.

Pair of cast bronze incense holders. The lower part is a tripod composed of 3 dragon heads. The upper part is a lotus leaf and 3 buds. In the center of the sheet is welded a hollow rod that can contain an incense stick. The cast bronze has defects. A beautiful old patina attests to a great age of several centuries. A broken foot is reattached. A label bears the number 37 without any other reference, but we do not know which collection it is. Height:29cm. 17th century or earlier. Probably Chinese.

Bronze pagoda cast in 3 parts. The bronze is very old, it has an excellent patina which makes me think it is from the Ming period or earlier. The casting is rustic, it has some defects. Probably a very old provincial work.The 4 sides of the pagoda are open with 4 doors with 2 bronze panels, opening and closing as needed. This makes a total of 8 panels for the 4 doors. 2 doors lead to 2 staircases with balusters. The whole being made in a very simple way, one can guess the work of twisting and modelling the hand-twisted waxes which served as a model before the casting. There is still a chain hanging from one corner, there must have been four corners, supporting as many bells now lost. No restoration, no hidden defects. The base was once riveted and reattached with 4 screws. Inside, there is still some cast refractory cement. All visible on photos. H: 31 cm. Weight 1760g

Pewter and bronze tea box imitating a drum. Decor incised with a chisel representing peony flowers on the sides, a symbol of longevity. Two handle in lion head.Bronze nails are arranged all around imitating a drum.The excellent quality of the workmanship, unusual for pewter, as well as the style suggests that this is an object dating from the very beginning of the Qing period. Good condition, no restoration or welding. One bronze nail is missing. No shock. Normal wear and tear for a centuries-old object, but the decor remains clean and precise. Inside we can see a mark of 4 Chinese characters. Very rare object. Height about 18cm.

Buddha in bronze cast with lost wax and gilded with mercury. The walls are very thick, the statuette is heavy. The gilding is original, certainly baked several times to obtain a nice thickness. The reverse of the dress is chiseled with stylized flowers. The base is closed by an incised copper plate of Vajra. The base does not appear to have been opened. The two arm bracelets were originally to have stone beads, today replaced by a colored coating. In the palm of the hand, we can see a hole left by the loss of the vase. Gilding slightly worn in rare places visible in photos. Otherwise good condition. No welding or restoration. The bronze has not been cleaned. Height 187mm.

Lost wax cast bronze incense burner. It is formed by a large peach opening by a lid, the fruit is represented with its branch, its leaves and other smaller peaches. In total there are 8 peaches but on closer examination, it appears that in one place a little surface of the bronze was not well scraped and finished like everywhere else, which would indicate that there was an additional peach, today now broken and disappeared and that the presence of this one had prevented the tool of the craftsman to maneuver under this fruit.There are also 2 bats All the fruits rest on a very old base which seems to be from the same period as the bronze and which is carved in a pretty hard wood with a fine grain which seems to me to be from Huang-Huali. It is very rare that this type of object still has its base. Beautiful patinas of bronze and wood. Good condition except that a small peach and a piece of the wood base are missing. All this is visible in the photos. Chine 18th century or earlier. Length: 23cm Height: 16cm

Cast bronze "soliflore"vase.The neck is engraved in the archaic Chinese style of stylized cicadas and Greeks, it ends by flaring and closing to create a bulb in the shape of a head of garlic, hence the English term "Garlic" to name this style, the body is modeled in a slice of melon.Small vase, simple but very elegant.. Chinese work early Qing Dynasty.The beautiful old patina of this bronze confirms it as being centuries old.18th century or earlier. H:17cm.

Shell mounted on a silver base. Chinese work made for export? From memory I seem to recall that a pair of identical cups were presented at the V&A in the 90s. The shell is held by silver nuts in the shape of a butterfly, it rests on a grove of 3 silver bamboos. The whole rests on a finely worked wooden base. The other nuts are in the shape of clover. The whole is finely worked and chiselled. Beautiful finish. Extremely rare object. Very certainly end of the 18th century. Good condition, 1 of the 6 bamboo branches is missing as can be seen on the pictures. The bamboo branches are removable. Height about 22cm. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Cast bronze incense burner. Rectangular shape, 4 feet, decoration of sacred pearls framed by stylized dragons, Greek friezes. Each of the feet comes out of the mouth of a Buddhist lion. The walls are very thick, the object is heavy. Lost wax casting has defects. The carving is not of high quality. No mark. However, this incense burner is powerful and has a very beautiful old patina, which makes it a venerable object with a strong presence. Probably Chinese work. Period 18th century or earlier. Height: 29cm. No restaure.