Chinese
Incense Burner, 1736-1795
Glass with silver cover, 7.9 x 10.4 cm (3 1/8 x 4 1/8 in.)
Four separate materials are stacked to form this small, round, Chinese incense burner. On the top there is a silver, filigree openwork, domed lid that fits snugly between two small handle forms on the lip of the yellow glass bowl of the piece. The egg yolk color of the glass is opaque, shiny, and rich. The body of the bowl swells into a slightly larger rounded vessel at its midpoint and then narrows again to the size of the round lip. Three small glass feet protrude to meet a carved and polished brown wooden burner/stand below the bowl. The burner/stand has an open, circular center and a rounded, serpentine, wave-like overall form with small cutouts that accommodate the feet of the bowl. The fourth section where the burner/stand rests, is a rough, cross section of a bonsai tree trunk with its bark still attached. There is a large crack running from the outside to the center of the tree. Incised (bottom of bowl): "Ch'ien-lung nien chih" [translation: Made in the reign of Ch'ien-lung (1736-1795)]. Inscribed on self-adhesive label (bottom of bowl): "M.F.A., Bigelow 1818".
Short Gallery
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.