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Lot Essay
The present lot is remarkable for its sumptuousness of design and the complexity of its form. No other vessel of this design appears to have been published.
The gui is a covered food container, appearing first in the Shang dynasty and becoming particularly popular during the Western Zhou period. The shape of the present cloisonne gui is based on that from the latter period which is characterised by a pair of substantial handles and a square base.
The colour combination on the present lot, with a black enamel ground, is unusual and found only on very few enamelled pieces. It, nevertheless, appears to have been favoured by the Yongzheng Emperor. See for example, painted enamelwares from the early 18th century that are decorated with colourful enamels on a black ground: a Yongzheng-marked winepot sold in these Rooms, 27 October 2003, lot 727; and a Qianlong-marked tripod censer from the Stephen Junkunc III collection, sold in our New York Rooms, 28 March 1996, lot 141.
The gui is a covered food container, appearing first in the Shang dynasty and becoming particularly popular during the Western Zhou period. The shape of the present cloisonne gui is based on that from the latter period which is characterised by a pair of substantial handles and a square base.
The colour combination on the present lot, with a black enamel ground, is unusual and found only on very few enamelled pieces. It, nevertheless, appears to have been favoured by the Yongzheng Emperor. See for example, painted enamelwares from the early 18th century that are decorated with colourful enamels on a black ground: a Yongzheng-marked winepot sold in these Rooms, 27 October 2003, lot 727; and a Qianlong-marked tripod censer from the Stephen Junkunc III collection, sold in our New York Rooms, 28 March 1996, lot 141.