QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1796)

Details

A VERY RARE PAIR OF IMPERIAL SILVER-INLAID ZITAN AND CLOISONNE ENAMEL LANTERNS
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1796)
Of cylindrical form, each lantern is constructed with vertical posts joined by circular, silver-inlaid base and top frame. Each lantern is raised on a finely carved, vase-shaped support, carved with pendent blades encircling the neck and shoulder above a continuous border of lotus flowers, all below a cloisonné enamel border decorated with lotus petals and further embellished with hanging seed pearls and glass beads. The whole is supported on a waisted octagonal stand fitted with a pierced gallery and bone posts, above the lotus petal border and shaped, aprons carved with archaistic scroll that join the eight ruyi-form feet.
18 1/4 in. (46.3 cm.) high

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Lot Essay

A pair of very similar silver wire-inlaid zitan and cloisonné ‘palace lanterns’ is illustrated in Qinggong jiucang zitan jiaju jingcui (Selected Masterpieces of Zitan Furniture Formerly in the Qing Imperial Collection), Beijing, 2011, p. 61. Authors Hu Desheng and Zong Fengying note that silver wire inlay technique is unique to workshops in Weifang, Shandong, and such lanterns were probably commissioned by the imperial workshops.

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