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

Details

A VERY RARE IMPERIAL CLOISONNE ENAMEL RITUAL LADLE
QIANLONG INCISED FOUR-CHARACTER MARK WITHIN DOUBLE SQUARES AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
The ladle with a barrel-shaped cup is finely decorated with an undulating lotus scroll on a turquoise ground between dark blue borders of stylised floral sprays repeated at the handle end and upturned tab. The arched handle below the tab is decorated with further lotus scrolls. The handle sides are enamelled with classic meanders. The underside is gilt with the mark engraved to the centre of the base.
16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm.) long

Literature

Art & Imitation in China, The Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong, 2006, p. 144, no. 32

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Lot Essay

The barrel-shaped cup and gently curved handle of the present lot are probably based on archaic bronze wine ladles. Early bronze examples include one inlaid with reddish glass-paste on the handle dating to the 11th century BC, in the collection of British Museum, illustrated by B. Quette ed., Cloisonné Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p. 7, fig. 1.10.

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