AN ARABIC-INSCRIBED BRONZE TRIPOD CENSER, 17TH CENTURY China. Of compressed globular form, supported on three waisted feet and rising to a waisted neck with galleried and incurved rim, the sides cast with three shaped cartouches enclosing Arabic inscriptions against a ring-punched ground. The rim and neck are decorated with raised line bands.

Inscriptions: Two cartouches with the Shahada al Tawhid. ‘There is no deity but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.’ Written in Persian style.

Provenance: Collection of Georg von der Gabelentz and thence by descent. Hans Georg Conon von der Gabelentz (1840-1893) was a German linguist and sinologist. His Chinesische Grammatik (1881), according to one critic, “remains until today the finest overall grammatical survey of the Classical Chinese language.” His father was the more renowned minister and linguist Hans Conon von der Gabelentz, an authority of the Manchu language. Poschwitz Castle in Altenburg, present-day Thuringia, built in the 13^th century, was the home of the Gabelentz family for many centuries.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear and casting irregularities, minuscule nicks and dents, and occasional light scratches. Ancient lacquer coating with extensive wear. Dark, naturally grown patina overall.

Weight: 1,477 g
Dimensions: Diameter 15.5 cm (at the widest points)

The base cast with a prominent six-character mark da Ming Xuande nianzhi within a rectangular reserve.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related bronze tripod censer, 21 cm diameter, also with Arabic inscriptions and dated to the 17^th century, at Sotheby’s London in Important Chinese Art on 11 May 2016, lot 241, sold for GBP 7,500.

十七世紀阿拉伯文三足爐
中國。縮頸，鼓腹，馬蹄形三足，唇沿上三道漩渦紋，腹部阿拉伯銘文。

銘文: Shahada al Tawhid （萬物非主，唯有真主，穆罕默德是真主的使者）

來源：Georg von der Gabelentz 收藏，保存至今。Hans Georg Conon von der Gabelentz (1840-1893) 是德國語言學家和漢學家。 據一位評論家說，他的《漢語語法》（1881）“直到今天仍然是對古典漢語最好的語法研究”。 他的父親是著名的部長兼語言學家Hans Conon von der Gabelentz，他是滿語的權威。 位於阿爾滕堡（今圖林根州）的 Poschwitz 城堡建於 13 世紀，幾個世紀以來一直是 Gabelentz 家族的住所。
品相：狀況極好，有輕微磨損和鑄件瑕疵、微小的刻痕和凹痕，以及局部輕微劃痕。漆塗層大面積磨損，包漿整體成深色。

重量：1,477 克
尺寸：直徑15.5 厘米 (最寬處)

爐底六字“大明宣德年製“。

拍賣結果比較: 比較一件相近的十七世紀阿拉伯文三足銅爐，直徑 21厘米，見倫敦蘇富比Important Chinese Art 2016年5月11 日, lot 241, 售價GBP 7,500。