The rich and pure piece with purplish red skin is beautiful and princely. It starts with a round opening and flat rim on top before narrowing at the neck into a round abdominal. A pair of elephant-head ears with relief carvings embellish either side of the neck. With big flappy ears, long and pointy curved tusks, a curved nose and glaring eyes, the piece captures both the form and spirit of the animal. The slightly flat drum abdominal narrows into a round, outward facing foot. On the bottom, the four-characters Made in the Xuande Period are written in seal script and embossed in a square frame in the middle. This censer also includes a round stool base comprised of five Ruyi clouds. The piece is round, thick and solid with the elephant head adding more solemnity. However, the lightness of the flower-shaped base minimizes the heaviness of the censer, eliminating all doubts of visual imbalance. With such thought gone into the design, the piece embodies perfect proportion and harmony.

D: 14.2 cm
W: 2475 g、1057 g (stand)