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I would appreciate any help in identifying the censor. I collect carved bone and jade Asian things because I am so impressed with the carvers.
Thanks
Charlie

This might help

Here are more pics

Hello charlie!

First off! congratulations on this wonder Ivory Censer! It exhibits very skillful carvings of the handle loops and detail to the Rui Shou tiger (fortuous symbol)

The carving reads "Qian Long Nian Zhi" which translate simply to "Made during the Regin of the Qian Long Emperor" The Qian Long emperor ruled during 1711-1799 and that period of Asian Arts were reputed to have been the most stringent in quality as the Qian Long Emperor himself was a great artist and set very high standards for the Art Industry during his reign.

with that being said, it is more often than not that pieces will have the reign carved of a period that reflects a much LATER period than it actually was. On top of this, the particular style of the asian characters that your Censer displays is not common during the Qian Long period. This could mean that it is either genuinely old OR it could mean that it was made to replicate a Qian Long Reign piece.

We do however have the confidence that your piece is indeed ivory - but mistakes are always possible with just looking at pictures.

If you would like to research further - we recommend comparing with pieces that could be found on our site - we host information from auction houses around the world and are still growing our database.

Any feedback on our site would be much appreciated!

URL Title :Auctionilla - Window to all auctions

Auctionilla Thanks so much for the information. I would like to research it further, and will look at the site you recommended. Again, I collect for the artistry and craftsmanship which in this piece seem to be above average. THANKS

Charlie,

The Censer does seem to have above average craftsmanship and from what we can tell it does look like genuine ivory - however never just rely on pictures. also be careful not to be fooled by 'period and date seals' as yours says "Qianlong reign" this is usually the first thing forgers try and replicate.

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