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Lot Essay
Previously sold in Hong Kong, 15 November 1989, lot 562.
The present vase reflects Qianlong's taste for paired objects as well as his interest in archaism. For other gilt-splashed double vases with archaistic dragons, cf. one from the W.W. Winkworth Collection, illustrated by S. Jenyns and W. Watson, Chinese Art, The Minor Arts, pl. 50, sold in our London Rooms, 16 November 1999, lot 106; and another vase sold in these Rooms, 27 April 1997, lot 539.
Miniature vessels, such as the present lot, were particularly appreciated by the literati class. They were displayed in collector's cabinets which were placed in the scholar's studio, as depicted in numerous genre paintings from the Ming and Qing periods. With the evolving trend towards displaying aesthetic rather than functional objects in the cabinets, miniaturisation developed reaching its apogee under Qianlong's reign.
The present vase reflects Qianlong's taste for paired objects as well as his interest in archaism. For other gilt-splashed double vases with archaistic dragons, cf. one from the W.W. Winkworth Collection, illustrated by S. Jenyns and W. Watson, Chinese Art, The Minor Arts, pl. 50, sold in our London Rooms, 16 November 1999, lot 106; and another vase sold in these Rooms, 27 April 1997, lot 539.
Miniature vessels, such as the present lot, were particularly appreciated by the literati class. They were displayed in collector's cabinets which were placed in the scholar's studio, as depicted in numerous genre paintings from the Ming and Qing periods. With the evolving trend towards displaying aesthetic rather than functional objects in the cabinets, miniaturisation developed reaching its apogee under Qianlong's reign.