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Lot Essay
The poem may be translated:
'A lovely tree stands by the Orchid Hall;
It spreads luxuriantly over the marble steps.
Its branches welcome the glory of the spring sun
When the morning dew still bespangles its leaves.
The blossoms gleam like golden birds in the rain
Or egrets wheeling round in the air.
The palace attendants wake from their long sleep;
The maids peep out at the dawn for a while.
The generative influence of heaven and earth protects the trunk;
The gentle breeze is laden with the scent of the blossoms.
The Imperial park does not exist in name only;
It is a wonderful place in the capital.
The plants therein can be compared to the orchids of the Hsieh family; They are as beautiful as the girls of the Chou clan.
We pray and sing hymns for divine protection
So that we may always be lucky and happy.
Written by the Emperor'.
Compare the stylistically similar, but horizontally formatted, champlevé enamel landscape plaque entitled Qingfeng jiyue (Clear Breeze and Cloudless Moon), illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonnné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 314.
This panel is also stylistically similar to a landscape panel embroidered by the Kung family during the Qing dynasty, which was in the Old Palace Museum and illustrated by J.C. Ferguson, Survey of Chinese Art, Shanghai, 1940, pl. 207. Like the present enamel panel it depicts pavilions amidst clouds and trees in a mountainous landscape and includes a lengthy Imperial poem in the sky.
'A lovely tree stands by the Orchid Hall;
It spreads luxuriantly over the marble steps.
Its branches welcome the glory of the spring sun
When the morning dew still bespangles its leaves.
The blossoms gleam like golden birds in the rain
Or egrets wheeling round in the air.
The palace attendants wake from their long sleep;
The maids peep out at the dawn for a while.
The generative influence of heaven and earth protects the trunk;
The gentle breeze is laden with the scent of the blossoms.
The Imperial park does not exist in name only;
It is a wonderful place in the capital.
The plants therein can be compared to the orchids of the Hsieh family; They are as beautiful as the girls of the Chou clan.
We pray and sing hymns for divine protection
So that we may always be lucky and happy.
Written by the Emperor'.
Compare the stylistically similar, but horizontally formatted, champlevé enamel landscape plaque entitled Qingfeng jiyue (Clear Breeze and Cloudless Moon), illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonnné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 314.
This panel is also stylistically similar to a landscape panel embroidered by the Kung family during the Qing dynasty, which was in the Old Palace Museum and illustrated by J.C. Ferguson, Survey of Chinese Art, Shanghai, 1940, pl. 207. Like the present enamel panel it depicts pavilions amidst clouds and trees in a mountainous landscape and includes a lengthy Imperial poem in the sky.