Han dynasty (206 BC -220 AD ), the stem foot cast on the base with stylized scroll reserves, above a hemispherical bowl with a conical cover casted with openwork mountain peaks, the surface has a pale grayish-green patina with russet, blue and green encrustation.


4 1/4 in., 2 3/8 in. widest diameter

Private Collection, Raleigh, North Carolina

The cover of this hill censer depicts the mystical home of the Daoist Immortal spirits, the mountain paradise peaks of Mount Peng. This was a popular motif during the Han dynasty, and there are several comparable censers, see the British Museum collection hill censer, (Museum no. 1936.1118.52), Cleveland Museum of Art (Museum no. 1986.46), and a similar bonshalu that sold at Christie's London on Nov 9, 2015, Sale 12254 , Lot 3.

$1,500 - 3,000