China. Heavily cast, the censer is decorated in relief with lotus scrolls flanked by a pair of handles in the form of caparisoned elephant heads with their trunks raised, supported on three further elephant heads, their curved trunks forming the legs. The openwork cover is pierced with lotus scrolls surrounding the finial cast as a recumbent elephant with an urn on its back filled with auspicious and precious objects including a conch, ingot, the Three Jewels, and a cash coin. The censer is embellished with inlays of pearl, glass, and semiprecious stones. The base cast with a lotus knop.

Provenance: From a Danish private collection and thence by descent. The underside with faint remnants of an old collector’s inscription.
Condition: Very good condition with old wear, traces of use and casting irregularities, some losses to inlays, the handles slightly loose. Fine, naturally grown, rich patina.

Weight: 3,577 g
Dimensions: Height 31 cm

Expert’s note: The fine inlays of pearl, glass, and semiprecious stones strongly indicate an imperial connection to this censer, which also compares favorably to Qianlong-marked examples, see for example Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2019, lot 3115.

Literature comparison:
The tradition of using three elephant heads as the feet of imperial bronze censers and braziers can be traced back at least as far as the Xuande reign (1426-1435). An example of a censer, bearing a six-character Xuande reign mark, on which the elephants balance on their rolled trunks, as on the present lot, is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and illustrated in A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties, Taipei, 1994, p. 199, no. 54.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 4128
Price: HKD 524,000 or approx. EUR 82,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze ‘elephant’ tripod censer and openwork cover, Qing dynasty, 18^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and inlays, as well as the related size (33.6 cm). Note the gilt handles and finial, which may possibly be of a later date.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 24 June 2013, lot 1119
Price: USD 92,500 or approx. EUR 107,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large bronze tripod censer and cover, Qianlong period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, decoration, and inlays. Note the apocryphal dating inscription (corresponding to 1651) as well as the larger size (51.5 cm).



十八世紀銅嵌寳太平有象三足銅爐
中國。熏爐體型碩大，造型繁複絢麗，一尊大象伏臥於爐蓋之上，雙耳肥碩，象鼻彎曲，寶象滿飾纓絡，背負聚寶盆，内有吉祥珍品，如海螺、元寶等。爐蓋高聳，通體透雕纏枝蓮花紋，枝葉錯縱盤繞，蓮花盛開其間。雙象首耳，象鼻、象牙造型誇張，腹部浮雕纏枝花卉，下承三象首足，裝飾瓔珞並嵌飾各色寶石，整體造型華美，銅質精良。

來源：丹麥私人收藏，保存至今。底部可見藏家款識。
品相：狀況極好，有磨損、使用痕跡和鑄造不規則，鑲嵌物有一些缺損，手柄略微鬆動。黃銅色皮殼包漿自然。

重量：3,577 克
尺寸：高31 厘米

專家注釋：珍珠、玻璃和半寶石的精美鑲嵌表明此香爐與皇家有關，與乾隆時期的例子相比也毫不遜色，見香港佳士得，2019年5月29日，lot 3115。

文獻比較：
以三象頭為御製青銅香爐和火盆足的傳統，至少可以追溯到宣德年間。一件六字款的宣德年款象足銅爐，收藏於臺北故宮博物院，見《A Special Exhibition of Incense Burners and Perfumers Throughout the Dynasties》，臺北，1994年，頁199，編號54。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2012年5月30日，lot 4128
價格：HKD 524,000（相當於今日EUR 82,000）
描述：清十八世紀銅太平有象三足熏爐
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形、裝飾、內鑲嵌，以及相近尺寸 (33.6 厘米)。請注意有鎏金雙耳和頂蓋鈕，可能年代較晚。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：舊金山邦瀚斯，2013年6月24日，lot 1119
價格：USD 92,500（相當於今日EUR 107,000）
描述：乾隆太平有象大型三足爐
專家評論：比較非常相近的外形、裝飾、內鑲嵌。請注意偽款(對應於1651年) 和尺寸較大(51.5 厘米)。