Sino-Tibetan Brass Censer with Rams Head Legs Late Qing/Republic

A small, but heavy, brass censer for lighting incense in the home. It may have once been used at a home altar.

 

The censer that has riveted rams head legs. You can see the three rivet heads in the interior. The flat mouth rim is tooled with Chinese designs of yin yang symbols, birds and the three friends in winter (pine, bamboo, and prunus ). The body was tooled on a lathe and shows lathe rings and tool marks. The rams' legs are cast.

 

 

4” (10.2 cm) diameter x 3” (7.6 cm) tall. Weighs 9.1 oz (250 g)

 

 

There are no breaks, or cracks. The rim has a small dent. Two of the legs show solder and may have been repaired or this was how it was manufactured. The legs are definitely firmly attached. The piece was over cleaned but is starting to take on a brownish dull finish. There is wear in the central well with some age spotting on the finish and a small amount of verdigris along the corner wear the rim and the sidewalls meet underneath

 

A great heavy censer to use even today.