Silver censer embossed with the attributes of the ‘Eight Immortals’. The ‘Eight Immortals’ is a group of legendary saints in Chinese mythology. Their power can bestow life or destroy evil and they were and still are very popular in China. The silversmith depicted all attributes in great detail such as the fan of Zhongli Quan, the bamboo drum and rods of Zhang Guo Lao, the sword and fly whisk of Lu Dongbin, the castanets of Cao Guojiu, the gourd and crutch of Li Tieguai, the flute of Han Xiangxi, the flower basket of Lan Caihe and the lotus of He Ziangu. The grips are graced by dragon heads. The Dragon brings rain and therefore symbolizes Fertility. The top rim of the censer is decorated with stylized Dragons and the bottom rim shows stylized clouds which symbolize the ‘Granting of all wishes’. The material from which this censer was made is called ‘coin silver’ and refers to a 90-percent silver alloy made by melting down silver coins. The workmanship of this censer is top of the range despite two very small pinholes in the bottom. It dates from the end of the Qing (1644 – 1912) to the early Republic period (1912 – 1947). Width 12.5 cm including grips. Depth 9.8 cm. Height 5.3 cm. Weight 133.3 grams.