Intricate Chinese Bronze Censer with Dragon Finial and Xuande Mark

• Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
  
  Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.
• Zoomorphic - Objects made having the shape, form, or likeness of an animal. For example, the Hindu god Ganesha has the head of an elephant.
  
  The term is also applied to furniture made from animal parts. Examples are chandeliers, hallstands and chairs made from deer antlers and umbrella stands, ice buckets and other objects made from an elephant's foot.
• Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.
  
  The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.
  
  It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• oriental censers - censers / incense burners, brass and bronze Chinese 365
• oriental objects - bronze, other objects 2,399
• oriental zoomorphic objects - Chinese zoomorphic themed objects 55