AN ARCHAISTIC BRONZE TRIPOD CENSER, DING , WITH AN ATTRACTIVE WOOD STAND AND COVER WITH JADE LINGZHI FINIALMing dynasty The bowl-shaped censer with a wide band of stylized taotie and leiwen divided by four vertical flanges and all supported on three flat-backed cabriole legs, the rim everted and with two inverted U-shaped handles, the interior cast with a sixteen-character archaic script, the bronze with an attractive applied malachite patination. 7 7/8in (20cm) high and across of the bronze vessel 13 1/2in (34.2cm) high overall 明 仿古青銅饕餮紋靈芝玉紐簋式薰爐 銘文：__ __中 司殳 父乍中姜簋子子孫孫永寶用亨考 Provenance: James E. Breece III 來源： James E. Breece III舊藏 The characters inscribed inside the bronze vessel are reversed, probably because the artisan who cast the piece lacked a working knowledge of the original bronze script. The inscription can be translated as "Zhong__fu produced this Zhongjiang gui vessel for the later generations to treasure." Zhongjiang might be the daughter of Zhong__fu, whomissioned the vessel as her daughter's dowry. Like many Ming and Qing archaic bronze vessels, the present lot preserves information on probably lost early bronzes through the meaningful practice of . For another, slightly later, bronze ding with the addition of silver inlay and similarly standing on a wood stand with matching wood cover fitted with a jade finial, see Christie's Hong Kong, October 6th, 2015, lot 180.