A spinach-green jade archaistic incense burner, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 碧玉仿古雙龍活環耳四柱式蓋爐

Collection of Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, Bt. (1900-69).

John Buchanan-Jardine 男爵（1900-69年）收藏

International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-36, cat. no. 2830.

A Romance with Jade: From the De An Tang Collection, Yongshougong, Palace Museum, Beijing, 2004, cat. no. 117.

《中國藝術國際展覽會》，英國皇家藝術學院，倫敦，1935-36年，編號2830

《玉緣：德安堂藏玉》，永壽宮，故宮博物院，北京，2004年，編號117

The distinctive form of the present lot is in imitation of an archaic bronze form, of which different pigments were kept in the tubular compartments at each corner subdivided by wooden splats, while the central compartment held a saucer and water for mixing the colours. See a very similar spinach-green jade censer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Yang Boda, Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese jades], Hebei, 2005, no. 559.

The present incense burner and cover would have been part of a three-piece garniture comprising of an incense burner, a vase and incense box, often known as the sanshi or 'Three Accessories'. For two examples of such sets in spinach-green jade, see one from the Qing court collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade, vol. 10: Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, no. 111; and another set in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, illustrated in Tsao Huei-chung, Jade: From Emperors to Art Deco, Paris, 2016, no. 132. Compare also a similar spinach-green jade incense burner and cover, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Ming Wilson, Chinese Jades, London, 2004, pl. 52.