A RARE CLOISONNE ENAMEL 'DING CAULDRON' TRIPOD CENSER, MING DYNASTY China, 16th century. The hemispherical bowl raised on three curved, blade-form legs, the flat everted rim with two upright loop handles, the sides finely enameled to the exterior in tones of Jingtai blue, red, yellow, white, and green with stylized chrysanthemum and lotus sprays, all against a turquoise ground on the upper body and a fine 'Imperial' blue ground to the lower body and feet. Provenance: Old Austrian private collection. By descent to the last owner. Condition: Overall good condition, commensurate with half a millennium of age. Extensive wear and some manufacturing flaws, such as expected pitting. The enamels with small old fills where the feet connect to the vessel, the respective areas at the interior with remnants of old soldering. The copper-alloy and gilt-bronze areas with a naturally grown, dark patina. Weight: 1,749 g Dimensions: Height 21 cm (feet to handles), Diameter 23.4 cm Expert's note: A cloisonne enamel tripod censer with blade-form legs such as the present lot is extremely rare, with only one example found at auction (see Auction result comparison). The design is based on archaic bronze 'ding' cauldrons, two examples of which can be found in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, accession numbers S1987.20 and S2012.9.579. Literature comparison: The hemispherical body, handles and flattened legs of this censer relate to several bronze tripod censers of Shang dynasty date, illustrated by Robert W. Bagley in Shang Ritual Bronzes in the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, 1987, pp. 448-51, figs. 80.2-80.4, no. 81 and fig. 81.1. Another cloisonne enamel censer of this type, in the Qing Court Collection, dated mid-Ming dynasty, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 45, no. 43. Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related cloisonne tripod censer, also dated to the 16th century and of similar size, but decorated with Buddhist lions and the legs issuing from dragon heads, at Christie's New York, in Cloisonne Enamels from Private American Collections on 18 September 2014, lot 605, sold for USD 137,000. 明代罕見掐絲琺琅雙耳三足爐 中國，十六世紀。三足半球形爐，戈足，平口，直立雙耳朝天，圓腹。爐身上部綠松石色地，下部藍色地，紅、黃、白、綠色卷葉菊花蓮花紋，琺琅精美。 來源：奧地利私人老收藏，同一家族保存直至上一位藏家。 品相：總體品相良好，與五百年的歷史相符。 廣泛的磨損和一些製造缺陷，例如預期的點蝕。腿部與爐身連接的地方有小的舊時填充，內部的相應區域帶有舊焊接的殘餘物。 銅合金和鍍金青銅區域具有自然生長的深色包漿。 重量：1,749 克 尺寸：高21 厘米 (雙耳至足底), 直徑23.4 厘米 專家注釋：景泰藍刀形足三足爐極爲少見，只有在一個拍賣中出現過（見拍賣結果比較）。造型以鼎為基礎，見Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, accession numbers S1987.20 and S2012.9.579。 拍賣結果比較：一件相近的三足爐，十六世紀，相近尺寸，佛獅紋，龍頭爐腿見紐約佳士得 Cloisonne Enamels from Private American Collections 2014年9月18日 lot 605, 售價USD 137,000。