.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The censer belongs to a group of imperial cloisonné enamel vessels that bear an additional character above or below the Qianlong reign mark. The use of the additional character is discussed by Sir H. Garner in Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London, 1962, p. 92, where the author notes that the "use of characters in addition to a nian hao seems to be peculiar to cloisonné".
The exact purpose of these additional characters is not known, although scholars have speculated that they may have been intended to group the cloisonné pieces into sets.
The current lot may be compared with the Qianlong mark and period cloisonné enamel censer decorated with lotus scroll and incised with an additional character 'chang' sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2016, lot 3405, while an imperial Qianlong cloisonne enamel bottle vase with the same additional character dun below the mark, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, Reverence and Perfection - Magnificent Imperial Cloisonné Enamels from a Private European Collection, 29 May 2013, lot 2056.
The exact purpose of these additional characters is not known, although scholars have speculated that they may have been intended to group the cloisonné pieces into sets.
The current lot may be compared with the Qianlong mark and period cloisonné enamel censer decorated with lotus scroll and incised with an additional character 'chang' sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2016, lot 3405, while an imperial Qianlong cloisonne enamel bottle vase with the same additional character dun below the mark, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, Reverence and Perfection - Magnificent Imperial Cloisonné Enamels from a Private European Collection, 29 May 2013, lot 2056.