A RARE IMPERIAL GILT-SPLASHED BRONZE TRIPLE-VASE
A RARE IMPERIAL GILT-SPLASHED BRONZE TRIPLE-VASE
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A RARE IMPERIAL GILT-SPLASHED BRONZE TRIPLE-VASE

QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details
A RARE IMPERIAL GILT-SPLASHED BRONZE TRIPLE-VASE
QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
Cast as three vessels of different shapes and heights standing side by side, the group comprises a baluster vase decorated with bats and cloud scrolls, a cylindrical vase with the 'Three Friends of Winter', and a compressed globular jar encircled with orchid leaves near the base. The surface is highlighted with large splashes of gilt. The base of the tallest vase is inscribed with the reign mark.
2 7/8 in. (7.2 cm.) high, stand

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Lot Essay

The present vase appears unique among a group of Qianlong-marked miniature component vases most of which are in the form of double-vase, reflecting the emperor's interest in archaism. For examples of double-vase, see one comprising a squat jar and a tall vase decorated also with bats and clouds, attributed to the imperial workshops or made for the palace, included in the exhibition Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong Oriental Ceramics Society, 1986, Catalogue p. 244, no. 236. Another one from the W.W. Winkworth Collection, illustrated by S. Jenyns and W. Watson, Chinese Art, The Minor Arts, London, 1963, pl. 50, was sold at Christie's London, 16 November 1999, lot 106. A third one was sold at Christie's New York, 15 September 2009, lot 257. Compare to a related Qianlong-marked 'peach and gourd' water vessel sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 April 2013, lot 139.

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 reached its apogee under the Qianlong reign.

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