A PAIR OF CHINESE GILT-BRONZE AND CLOISONNE ENAMEL 'CRANE'-FORM CENSERS

A pair of similar cranes, of somewhat smaller size (72 in.), is illustrated in Colorful, Elegant, and Exquisite: A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Ware from Mr. Robert Chang's Collection, 28 December 2007 - 8 May 2008, Suzhou Museum, pp. 70-71, where they are dated Qianlong period. They, also, grasp lingzhi-form candlesticks in their beaks, and have similar wing and tail feathers, but the covers are missing. Pairs of similar, large, crane-form incense burners can be seen in photographs illustrated by Wang-go Weng and Yang Boda in The Palace Museum: Peking, Treasures of the Forbidden City, New York, 1982; one pair grasping lingzhi-form candlesticks in their beaks in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, p. 25, the other pair shown flanking the throne in the Hall of Great Harmony, pp. 44-45, where the authors note that the various cloisonné censers, including the pair of cranes, "emitted fragrant smoke that spiraled upward to envelop the Son of Heaven in ethereal haze". A very similar pair of cranes of the same size sold Christie's, London, 24 May 2018, lot 615 (£187,500).