A GUAN-TYPE TRIPOD CENSER, CHINA, 18TH CENTURYThepressed globular body raised on three short conical feet, the waisted neck with slightly everted rim set with two upright loop handles, covered overall in a soft, vitreous, thick glaze of sea-green, the interior suffused with a dense network of iron wire, gold thread, and transparent crackle, the exterior with similar but more sparsely arranged crackle.Provenance: British trade.Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear, light surface scratches, and manufacturing flaws, including glaze recesses, the glaze slightly smoothened at the feet.Weight: 737.6 gDimensions: Diameter 13.4 cmThe glaze of this censer was made to imitate one of the most celebrated official wares of the Song dynasty, Guan, which was made for the court in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province. Laohudong in southern Hangzhou appears to have been the most important of the Guan kilns that produced wares of this highly attractive crackled glaze. Almost half a millennium later, pieces in the imperial court collection inspired the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors, both of whom were ardent admirers of Song dynasty ceramics, tomission modern copies of Guan wares. Imperial enthusiasm for the ware was highly influential, and many fine andpelling versions of the rich crackled glaze of this 18th-century revival of Song-style ware were produced.Literatureparison:Compare a small celadon-glazed censer of related form in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Theplete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Monochrome Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 224, no. 202, described as imitating Guan glaze from the Ming dynasty.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Christie’s London, 19 July 2018, lot 316Price: GBP 10,625 or approx.EUR 14,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A small Guan-type crackle-glazed tripod censer, 18th centuryExpert remark:pare the related form and glaze. Note the size (8 cm).Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s New York, 11 September 2012, lot 250Estimate: USD 25,000 or approx.EUR 30,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A large Guan-type tripod censer, Qing dynasty, 18th centuryExpert remark:pare the related form and glaze. Note the (25.5 cm).Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Sotheby’s New York, 17 March 2015, lot 44Price: USD 150,000 or approx.EUR 177,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A 'Guan'-type tripod censer, Qing dynasty, 18th / 19th centuryExpert remark:pare the related form and glaze. Note the size (20.6 cm).十八世紀仿官釉雙耳三足爐口外侈，收頸，雙耳，鼓腹，下腹圜收，三足。通體厚施青色釉，爐内開片成密集冰裂紋，爐外壁有類似但稀疏的開片。