FIRST HALF 20TH CENTURY

The present vases are exceptional examples of the type of works of art which were being produced during the late Qing dynasty and early 20th century. Many of these large-scale works were destined for expositions or world's fairs, which were increasingly popular venues for showcasing antique and modern works of art from around the world. One such exposition was the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915, where a multitude of Chinese works of art, among others, were on view to the public. Among this substantial group of objects was a pair of cloisonné enamel vases of similar shape and large size, exhibited in the Fine Arts Palace, illustrated by F.M. Todd in The Story of the Exposition, New York and London, 1921, where they were displayed next to a massive cloisonné enamel garniture and pair of lions raised on tall plinths. It is quite possible that the present pair of vases was made for one of these expositions, as many of the works of art sent for exhibition were meant to impress, and were therefore highly decorated or of unusually large size. It is also a possibility that the present vases were produced during the last years of the Qing dynasty for Palace decoration, owing to the fact that the dragons are five-clawed.

The use of large gilt-copper appliques on cloisonné enamel vessels appears to be quite rare, but two similar gilt-copper dragons can be seen on a Qianlong mark and period cloisonné vase of smaller size (59.5 cm.) illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji; Gongyi Meishu, bian 10 (A Complete Collection of Chinese Art; Arts and Crafts, vol. 10; Gold, Silver, Glass and Enamelware), Beijing, 1987, p. 184, no. 332. A smaller (72 cm.) pear-shaped vase decorated in similar fashion with raised dragons amidst clouds, from the Love Collection, was sold in these rooms 20 October 2004, lot 695.