Vietnam vers 1900

A large three-part covered bronze incense burner with a medallion patina and silver niello decoration in high relief of two scenes, one depicting a dragon and a turtle confronting each other around the sacred pearl, and the other a phoenix and Qilin confronting each other around the sacred pearl, each scene among stylized clouds and Buddhist emblems. The lid is decorated with openwork friezes of stylized sapphires alternating with a niello decoration of Shu characters. The handle forms a Buddhist lion and its two cubs playing with a ball. The two handles are decorated in relief with stylized clouds, spat out by dragon heads in relief, from cartouches with niello decoration of bats among clouds. The rims of the neck and the body are decorated with alternating Buddhist characters and emblems. The three feet spat out by zoomorphic heads, resting on a base forming a stylized cloud and openwork in its center of the geometrical shou character. On a solid wooden base carved with cartouches alternating chimera fights around the sacred pearl and zoomorphic heads spitting out the four feet of the base. Total height : 166 cm - Height without base : 112 cm W. with handles : 68 cm - D. 45 cm (Accident and scratches on the base)