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Lot Essay
A single vase of almost identical design is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Metal-bodied Enamel Ware - The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 143.
It is interesting to note that the monster masks seen on the main decorative band and on the neck are more closely related to the masks found in Tibetan Buddhist iconography than to the archaistic taotie mask designs more commonly known on enamel vases. See for example, the cloisonné enamel Buddhist pagodas included in the exhibition Buddhist Art from rehol: Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, Taiwan, illustrated in the Catalogue, nos. 77 and 79, where the monster masks are linked by beaded chains.
The taotie masks taken from early bronzes of the Shang and Zhou periods appear to be a popular design that is seen on several archaistic vases from the Qianlong period, such as the large baluster vase sold in our London Rooms, 7 June 1993, lot 122; and the zun sold in these Rooms, 29 October 1995, lot 631.
It is interesting to note that the monster masks seen on the main decorative band and on the neck are more closely related to the masks found in Tibetan Buddhist iconography than to the archaistic taotie mask designs more commonly known on enamel vases. See for example, the cloisonné enamel Buddhist pagodas included in the exhibition Buddhist Art from rehol: Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, Taiwan, illustrated in the Catalogue, nos. 77 and 79, where the monster masks are linked by beaded chains.
The taotie masks taken from early bronzes of the Shang and Zhou periods appear to be a popular design that is seen on several archaistic vases from the Qianlong period, such as the large baluster vase sold in our London Rooms, 7 June 1993, lot 122; and the zun sold in these Rooms, 29 October 1995, lot 631.