A small bronze 'lion and cub' 'drawer' censer, Late Ming / Early Qing dynasty

Michael Merton, London, acquired in the 1980s.

In his notes, Hausmann attributes this rare censer to the thirteenth century and fittingly describes its sculptor as 'the Michaelangelo of China' and notes that the piece was the finest small bronze sculpture he had seen in 50 years of collecting. Compare a Song dynasty bronze censer of related size and cuboid form mounted with two figures of boys, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th May 2014, lot 3236.