MING DYNASTY, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE AND UNUSUAL CLOISONNE ENAMEL TRIPOD VESSEL
MING DYNASTY, 15TH-16TH CENTURY
Possibly the base of a Mount Meru mandala, decorated on the exterior with a dense, leafy lotus scroll reserved on a light blue ground, the large blossoms supporting auspicious emblems including rhinoceros horns, a lingzhi and a pair of books, above the richly gilt bottom edge finely incised with a further lotus scroll, the whole raised on three later-added bracket feet, the gilded base incised with a six-character Jingtai mark in a line within a double rectangle
11½ in. (29.2 cm.) across

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Lot Essay

Mount Meru (also known as Sumeru), is the cosmic mountain that is regarded as the axis of the universe, and the dwelling place of the gods. Compare a rare cloisonné enamel Mount Meru mandala, dated to the Wanli period, in the collection of the Pacific Asia Museum, illustrated in The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Chicago, 2003, p. 175, no. 42. Also illustrated, p. 173, no. 40, is a Qianlong period Meru mandala in gilt copper from the collection of the Musée Guimet.

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