A parcel-gilt bronze incense box and cover


Hu Wenming zhi seal mark, 17th centuryThe circular box with an incurving inner rim supporting the domed cover cast and gilt with blossoming peonies, the sides decorated with floral sprigs of lotus, peonies and chrysanthemums, all reserved on a double-Y diaper ground, the recessed base with a gilt four-character mark Hu Wenming zhi incised within a square. 8.3cm (3 2/8in) diam.
|十七世紀 局部鎏金銅花卉紋香盒「胡文明製」金文鑄款Provenance: W. S. Middleton, 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, 1860, and thence by descent來源： 1860年67步兵團W.S. Middleton先生收藏，並由後人保存迄今The 67th Regiment embarked for India in 1858 and then moved on to China in 1860 for service in the Second Opium War. It saw action in the Battle of the Taku Forts in August 1860 and the Battle of Palikao in September before capturing Beijing later in the month.Compare with a similar parcel-gilt bronze incense box and cover, Hu Wenming zhi mark, Ming dynasty, early 17th century, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 4124.