QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE CLOISONNE ENAMEL LOTUS-LEAF FORM WASHER
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
The washer is naturalistically cast as a broad lotus leaf, its veins finely detailed in varied green enamels within gilt outlines, with long curling stems, forming the base, bearing a curling leaf, a lotus pod, and a budding lotus flower with white petals and pinkish tips, a lotus pod and a curling leaf. Together with Catalogue of the Avery Collection of Ancient Chinese Cloisonnés, published by Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, New York, 1912.
15 in. (38.1 cm.) wide (2)

Provenance

Samuel Putnam Avery (1847- 1920), New York
Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, accessioned during 1909 and 1910

Literature

Catalogue of The Avery Collection of Ancient Chinese Cloisonnés, New York, 1912, p 67, no. 129

Exhibited

Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, circa 1909- 1910

Brought to you by

Priscilla Kong

pkong@christies.com +852 2978 9958

Lot Essay

Although lotus-leaf was a popular choice of form for washers of the Qing period, it is very rare to find them in cloisonné, but more often in other materials such as jade and crystal, for example, a jade lotus leaf-form washer sold at Christie’s New York, 19-20 May 2013, lot 1739. For a similar but smaller cloisonné enamel lotus-leaf-form washer, compare to the example sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 2916.
It is very interesting to compare the form of the present washer with metalwork censers of Song dynasty such as the example in the collection of the Nanjing Municipal Museum, which is similarly cast with a lotus pod, lotus flower and leaf all borne on an undulating stem and connected to a long handle.

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