Chinese Republic Bronze Censer with Enameled Band

A heavy, round, bowl-shaped bronze censer that is fairly deep with slightly sloping sides and a flat inner well. Near the mouth there is an enameled band with a repeating repousse design of prunus blossoms and leaves. The designs are painted in cobalt, red, and two tones of turquoise.

 

The censer was tooled on a lathe; you can see the lathe rings on the flat base. The metal feels so very smooth. The mouth edge is cut and flat. There is a joint line on one side. The word CHINA is stamped into the base.

 

4 ¾” (12.1 cm) diameter x 1 ¾” (4.4 cm) tall. Weighs 12.2 oz (345 g)

 

There is wear on the base to the point you can see the golden color of the metal through the patina. There are a myriad of fine scratches all over the piece. The mouth rim has fine little nicks. The band at the mouth has lost much of the enamel. There is some light patchiness on the sides that appears be calcification. The area just below the mouth on the inside shows faint dark spotting probably from burning incense.

 

A nice old, dark, heavy censer that shows wear from regular use over the ages. It is ready to be put to use again.