Hand warmer

Decorative bronze hand warmers, as well as foot warmers, were common in upper-class Ming and Qing dynasty households. The best of them were made by the leading metalworkers of the day. The slightly domed pierced lid of this example is worked as stylized waves with an old fisherman sitting in his boat. There is a three-character hallmark engraved underneath, Qifu Xuan (Studio of the Seven Happiness), which was the name of a well-respected workshop of the period.