The Wang Shixiang Collections of Bronze Censer, 4 December 2010

Published by Beijing Council International Auctions Co., Beijing, China, 2010

About this Item

In Chinese and with secondary text/notes in English. First printing of the first edition. 10.75 x 8.5 inches. Bound in glossy paper-covered hardboards, with crisp gilt-stamped lettering and with color illustration of a censer to the front board. Unbumped spine head and tail, and with sharp corners. Text block firmly bound in. Unnumbered pages, and with numerous full-page and double-page color plates. Several pages contain prices realized, in a neat black ink hand, very discreet. Tidewater mark at bottom of the last four pages, "Conditions of business." Not affecting the photo pages of the various censers, except that there is some minor page waviness at the bottom of the last several pages. Else an impressively clean interior. A gently read book. A Very Good copy. An important book, rare in any condition. 1 lb. 6 oz. Featured are 20 bronze censers from the collection of Wang Shixiang [1914 - 2009]. He was a Chinese researcher of traditional Chinese culture, and leading art collector, poet, and calligrapher. He grew up in a cultured, prosperous and liberal-minded family from Beijing. His education was quite cosmopolitan. He attended first the American School in Beijing and the Yanjing University (later to become Beijing University). He finished his postgraduate research on the aesthetic theory of Chinese painting in 1943. In the late 1940s he studied in the U.S. Following the defeat of Japan in 1945, Wang Shixiang was commissioned by the Chinese Government to retrieve the many national treasures that had been looted during the occupation. His art collection was an inspiration for craftsmen and scientists worldwide. During the Cultural Revolution (1966 - 1976), his collection was seized by the Chinese authorities, though after the revolution the collection was returned to him. In 2003 it became part of the Chinese national heritage. Throughout his adult life he collected, among other antiquities, Chinese bronze censers. Yongzheng marks and period bronze vessels from Yongzheng/Qing dynasty are comparatively rare. The fine workmanship of the censers in the Wang Shixiang collection is particularly notable. For instance, some of the censers have handles which gently taper from the mouth to the shoulders to accentuate the swell of the body. Moreover, the smoothly finished surface on several of the censers has a luminous effect through the subtle golden sheen. Seller Inventory # 008169

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Wang Shixiang Collections of Bronze ...

Publisher: Beijing Council International Auctions Co., Beijing, China

Publication Date: 2010

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Edition: 1st Edition