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拍品專文
It is interesting to speculate how this magnificent lobed basin would have been used at the court of the Qianlong emperor. Given its size and the beauty of its interior decoration, it is unlikely to have been used as a jardiniere, and as it is relatively shallow in relation to its width and length it is unlikely to have been used as a fish bowl. It could have been used as a basin, but surely only in an exceedingly grand context, since this vessel would have been considered remarkable even within the luxurious surroundings of the palace. In view of its size, it is also worth considering the possibility that this vessel could have been used as an ice chest, even though most extant ice chests are rectangular and have handles at either end to facilitate carrying them. Given its flaring sides, this lobed vessel could have been carried in a frame with poles like those used for sedan chairs when it contained ice, while its lobed form in no way precludes this function.
Large ice chests were used in the Palace during the hot summer months. They were filled with ice and placed in certain rooms inhabited by the imperial family. The ice was used to cool drinks, fruit and sweet snacks, as well as cooling the surrounding area and somewhat alleviating the oppressive heat of Beijing, which the Manchu emperors found so uncomfortable. While usually placed on stands, like the current example, these chests were sometimes placed directly on the floor beneath tables to cool both the food and those seated at the table. In winter ice blocks were cut from the Inner Golden River and were stored in the five ice vaults in the Forbidden City near the Gate of the Great Ancestors. These ice vaults could hold about 20,000 blocks of ice. During the period from the first day of the fifth month to the twentieth day of the seventh month specific members of the Imperial Household Department received an allocation of two blocks of ice per day. Surviving records indicate that originally the ice chests were made of wood, and usually lined with lead, like the example in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated by Craig Clunas in Chinese Furniture, V&A Publications, London, 1997, p.99, no.89), or lined with zinc as in the case of the example in the Musée Guimet (illustrated by Michel Beurdeley, Chinese Furniture, Kodansha International, Tokyo, 1979, p.95, no.130). However by the 18th century ice chests destined for the apartments of the empress and dowager empress are recorded as being made of plain bronze with pewter linings. It has been suggested that fine cloisonné enamel ice chests would have been intended for the emperor's own apartments.
One of a pair of cloisonné enamel ice chests in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p.134, no.129. The Beijing ice chests, which bear a six-character Qianlong mark (1736-95), is decorated with bands of formal floral scrolls. The double handles at either end of the Beijing Palace example would have been necessary in order for the vessel to be carried, since it would have been extremely heavy when full of ice, and it may be worth considering whether in fact it would have been easier to carry such a heavy object in a fame with poles.
On the exterior of the current vessel is a complex and beautifully executed design of flowers, flowering shrubs and rocks. The sophistication of the arrangement and the wide variety of the flowers is remarkable - including wisteria, yellow hibiscus, begonias, day lilies, peonies, poppies, osmanthus, camellias, prunus, pomegranate and many others. On the interior is a superbly wrought 'mille fleurs' design depicting an even greater variety of flowers. A cloisonné enamel vase in the Beijing Palace Museum has a design of mixed flowers and butterflies (ibid., p.100, no.97), but these are less varied and of simpler form than those on the current vessel. However, the vase, which has a six-character Qianlong mark, also has a turquoise ground similar to that of the current lobed vessel. A Qianlong rectangular cloisonné ice chest with flower and butterfly decoration on a turquoise ground was sold in our New York Rooms as part of the sale from the C. Roxton and Audrey Love Collection 20th October 2004, lot 601.
Large ice chests were used in the Palace during the hot summer months. They were filled with ice and placed in certain rooms inhabited by the imperial family. The ice was used to cool drinks, fruit and sweet snacks, as well as cooling the surrounding area and somewhat alleviating the oppressive heat of Beijing, which the Manchu emperors found so uncomfortable. While usually placed on stands, like the current example, these chests were sometimes placed directly on the floor beneath tables to cool both the food and those seated at the table. In winter ice blocks were cut from the Inner Golden River and were stored in the five ice vaults in the Forbidden City near the Gate of the Great Ancestors. These ice vaults could hold about 20,000 blocks of ice. During the period from the first day of the fifth month to the twentieth day of the seventh month specific members of the Imperial Household Department received an allocation of two blocks of ice per day. Surviving records indicate that originally the ice chests were made of wood, and usually lined with lead, like the example in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated by Craig Clunas in Chinese Furniture, V&A Publications, London, 1997, p.99, no.89), or lined with zinc as in the case of the example in the Musée Guimet (illustrated by Michel Beurdeley, Chinese Furniture, Kodansha International, Tokyo, 1979, p.95, no.130). However by the 18th century ice chests destined for the apartments of the empress and dowager empress are recorded as being made of plain bronze with pewter linings. It has been suggested that fine cloisonné enamel ice chests would have been intended for the emperor's own apartments.
One of a pair of cloisonné enamel ice chests in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p.134, no.129. The Beijing ice chests, which bear a six-character Qianlong mark (1736-95), is decorated with bands of formal floral scrolls. The double handles at either end of the Beijing Palace example would have been necessary in order for the vessel to be carried, since it would have been extremely heavy when full of ice, and it may be worth considering whether in fact it would have been easier to carry such a heavy object in a fame with poles.
On the exterior of the current vessel is a complex and beautifully executed design of flowers, flowering shrubs and rocks. The sophistication of the arrangement and the wide variety of the flowers is remarkable - including wisteria, yellow hibiscus, begonias, day lilies, peonies, poppies, osmanthus, camellias, prunus, pomegranate and many others. On the interior is a superbly wrought 'mille fleurs' design depicting an even greater variety of flowers. A cloisonné enamel vase in the Beijing Palace Museum has a design of mixed flowers and butterflies (ibid., p.100, no.97), but these are less varied and of simpler form than those on the current vessel. However, the vase, which has a six-character Qianlong mark, also has a turquoise ground similar to that of the current lobed vessel. A Qianlong rectangular cloisonné ice chest with flower and butterfly decoration on a turquoise ground was sold in our New York Rooms as part of the sale from the C. Roxton and Audrey Love Collection 20th October 2004, lot 601.