QIANLONG PERIOD (736-1795)

Details

A CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL RECTANGULAR CENSER AND COVER, FANGDING
QIANLONG PERIOD (736-1795)
The censer is raised on four, tall, dragon-shaped legs, and each facet of the body is decorated with an hibiscus spray divided by a flange, with further flanges at the corners. The underside is divided into four quadrants, each enclosing a lotus spray, and the handles are decorated with taotie masks and angular scrolls, while the cover has further hibiscus sprays on each side below a gilt Buddhist lion seated with one paw resting on a brocade ball atop a panel of white prunus blossoms scattered on a mauve ground.
10¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Michael Goedhuis, London, 1988.

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Fangding of this shape and date are more usually decorated on the sides with taotie masks, such as the example illustrated by Claudia Brown in Chinese Cloisonné: The Clague Collection, Phoenix Art Museum, 1980, pp. 96-97, no. 41; and the fangding in the five-part altar garniture illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 267. Each of these also has gilt flanges, and a gilt Buddhist lion surmounting the cover. The inspiration for these vessels is ancient bronze examples of Zhou dynasty date, many of which were illustrated in Xiqing gujian, 'Inspection of Antiques from the Zhou Dynasty', the catalogues of the ancient bronzes in the Qing Court Collection compiled under the authorization of the Qianlong emperor in 1755.

More from Rivers of Color: Cloisonné Enamels from Private American Collections

View All