antique bronze statues and gilt bronzes chinese and Indian sculptures antique chinese porcelain examples Welcome   Our Collections Bronzes and Metalwork Exhibitions Early Ceramics Contact Enamels Furniture   Himalayan   Indian   Ivory and Raino Horn   Lacqoer   Porcelain   Sculpture   Southeast Asian   Works of Art Pair of cloisonné enamel pigeon censers Qing dynasty, first half of the 18th century Height: 18 cm | 7 1/16 in Length: 19 cm | 7 1/2 in Click image for full-size version Both pigeons stand with alert heads turned slightly to the left – the eyes of inlaid glass. The birds’ chests are puffed out, and their tail feathers sweep down and behind; the latter, along with their wings, are delineated in a thick gilt metal. The removable wings form the cover to each censer, and at their centre is an opening – from which smoke can escape. This pair are of particularly heavy and fine quality; the wirework is arranged in feather like form – the blue, turquoise, green and red enamels varying slightly on each bird (possibly to differentiate between male and female). The beaks, legs and underside of the tail feathers are all richly gilt. Similar examples: Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989 – no. 324 illustrates an almost identical pair of pigeons. Chinese Decorative Arts, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Leidy, Sui and Watt, 1997 – page 16; this pair of parakeets – from the Kennedy Collection – bear many similar characteristics in manufacture, indicating that they were made in the same workshop.