426.
A CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL TRIPOD INCENSE BURNER, DING
Ming dynasty, 16th century
8,3 x 11,3 cm
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection.
inv. n. 5265.
The compressed globular body raised on three tapered legs, the short circular neck with a thick gilt brass rim flanked by two arch shaped handles, the whole external surface decorated in polychrome enamels on a turquoise ground, the rounded sides with a scroll with six chrysanthemums, the bottom side with a bunch of grapes.
The shape of this incense burner is inspired by ding archaic bronze cauldrons which were used to contain food for rituals from the Neolithic period until the end of the Han dynasty. It was resumed in the Song dynasty by the Guan ceramic kilns which elaborated some specific characteristics such as a more compressed globular body. This more rounded shape was adopted by bronze casters during the Xuande period, whose production remains for the next centuries the model also for similar pieces decorated with cloisonné enamels.
Differently from Europe, where it is usually connected with drinking wine, grapevine as decorative motif in China is a wish for a multiple progeny. The motif has foreign origins, imported to China from Central Asia through the Silk Road since the Tang dynasty.
Chrysanthemums (ju) are associated with the ninth month and autumn. Their cultivation is considered an occupation for literati. The famous poet Tao Yuanming (365-427) wrote many verses dedicated to this flower which he considered a symbol of retirement from the mundane troubles in search of a symbiosis with nature.
