Property from the Estate of EUGENE O. PERKINS
A PAIR OF IMPERIAL ENCRUSTED ENAMELED GILT-METAL PETAL-MOLDED BOWLS

Details
A PAIR OF IMPERIAL ENCRUSTED ENAMELED GILT-METAL PETAL-MOLDED BOWLS
QIANLONG FOUR CHARACTER MARK IN RED ENAMEL WITHIN A DOUBLE SQUARE AND OF THE PERIOD

Each of barbed outline and raised on a flared pedestal foot with keyfret border, the sides decorated with a band of conjoined, scrolling lotus sprays in chiseled and incised gilt-metal reserved on a bright blue ground, separated by plain bands of turquoise enamel from narrow borders of linked foliate scroll above and below, the everted rim formed by two plates joined by a series of screws on the underside and inlaid on the exterior with a row of faceted glass 'diamonds', the top crisply chiseled with foliate scroll reserved on a finely textured matte ground, interior enameled in pale blue and the interior of the base in white, some chipping of enamels, one 'jewel' missing--8 3/4 in. (22cm.) diam. (2)

Lot Essay

Compare a ten-lobed dark blue enameled gilt-copper box and cover chiseled and embossed with flowers and foliage very similarly rendered to those occupying the broad bands on these examples, dated to the Qianlong period and in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by Sir Harry Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonne Enamels, p. 93, p. 78

The rows of faceted glass at the rims of these bowls are reminiscent of those often encountered encircling the dials of French enameled lyre-shaped mantel clocks of the Louis XVI period (1774-1789). These rows are also composed of glass as opposed to rock crystal, obliquely cut and set before foil backing. See Tardy, La Pendule Francaise des Origines a Nos Jours, 2me partie, p. 28l, fig. 3

Moreover, enameled Western-style clocks set with bands of colored glass were produced in Canton during the 18th century, examples of which form part of the Palace Collection, Beijing

The existence of these clocks and the presence of the beaded rows on these bowls demonstrate the influence of Western European decorative art on Chinese decorative art of this period