QIANLONG PERIOD (1736 - 1795)

Elaborate cloisonné enamel animal figures of this large size appear to be quite rare, but the combination of the cloisonné and champlevé techniques is even more rare. Also the depiction of qilin rather than the more usual buddhistic lions is unusual. A single cloisonné figure of a standing qilin of comparable size from the Qing Court collection is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, 2002, p. 168, no. 160. A pair of cloisonné enamel qilin with two horns shown striding atop a rectangular pedestal base are illustrated by J. Finlay, The Chinese Collection; selected works from the Norton Museum of Art, 2003, pp. 154 - 5, no. 53. The author goes on to note that the qilin "is associated with the Confucian virtue of ren, or benevolence toward one's fellow creatures". The qilin also has another meaning. Like its Western counterpart the stork, it is the traditional bringer of infants.