Lion Ding Incense Burner

A three-legged ding in rough stoneware, with a small lion keeping the lid.

The ding is the oldest vessel shape in China, the bronze tripod that held offerings at the Shang and Zhou courts, and to ask after the ding, 问鼎, is still the phrase for having designs on the top job. Here it is made in coarse clay with a rust brown glaze, the three legs cut as lion heads with their paws set flat, a second lion crouched on the pierced lid. Smoke from a coil leaves through the cut work around him.

Made by hand in Dehua, the porcelain town in Fujian, though this piece is deliberately rough. Each glaze runs a little differently.

It suits a study or a tea table, and makes a decent gift for someone who has just gone for the top job.