QIANLONG CAST FOUR-CHARACTER MARK WITHIN A DOUBLE SQUARE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

AN IMPERIAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ARCHAISTIC TRIPOD CENSER AND COVER
QIANLONG CAST FOUR-CHARACTER MARK WITHIN A DOUBLE SQUARE AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
The vessel is modelled after an archaic bronze, yen, of Zhou dynasty. The top section is of a deep bowl and is decorated on the exterior with a row of downward lappets, each enclosing a mythical beast mask, all below four decorative bands. The rim is surmounted with a pair of rope-twist bail handles, and the similarly decorated cover is further surmounted by a finial of a five-clawed dragon amidst clouds. The lower section of the vessel has three taotie masks, each is centered at the top of each leg, and the legs are further carved with leafy scroll against a dotting ground.
9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm.) high

Provenance

The Oriental Art Gallery Ltd., London, 6 June 1996

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Marco Almeida (安偉達) SVP, Senior International Specialist, Head of Department & Head of Private Sales

malmeida@christies.com +852 2978 6735

Lot Essay

The archaistic mask motif and decoration on the present censer is similar to a bronze yan dated to Zhou dynasty, illustrated by line drawing in Xiqing Gujian, juan 30 (fig. 1). An almost identical example is in the Taipei National Palace Museum collection, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, p.141, no 58 (fig. 2). Another example that is smaller in size with the gilded rims and legs left undecorated, is illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2- Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, p. 295, no. 235.

More from Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All