Lot Essay
The archaistic scrollwork on this vase may be compared to that on the gilt-splashed bronze double-vase from the collection of W. W. Winkworth, sold in our London Rooms, 16 November 1999, lot 106. These vases reflect the Qianlong emperor's taste for the curious and the archaic, as evident from the elaborate style of the scrolling mythical beast bodies which is an 18th-century adaptation on the dragon motifs on Eastern Zhou metalwork.
See an identical pair of vases (although parcel-gilt) offered in our Hong Kong Rooms, 30 October 2001, lot 626.
See also the bronze or cloisonné double vases decorated with archaistic motifs similar to those of the present lot: one sold in our New York Rooms, 29 March 2006, lot 179; the other illustrated in H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné : The Pierre Uldry Collection, Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 304.
See an identical pair of vases (although parcel-gilt) offered in our Hong Kong Rooms, 30 October 2001, lot 626.
See also the bronze or cloisonné double vases decorated with archaistic motifs similar to those of the present lot: one sold in our New York Rooms, 29 March 2006, lot 179; the other illustrated in H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné : The Pierre Uldry Collection, Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 304.