QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Vessels decorated with shou characters were mostly made for birthday celebrations for the imperial family, often seen on bowls and dishes. According to Qing court records, in the 45th year of the Qianlong reign (1780), a large number of cloisonné enamel bowls and dishes decorated with wanshou wujiang characters were produced for the celebration of the Emperor's 70th birthday; such vessels can be seen in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2- Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pp. 351-352 and 354, no. 281, 282 and 284. Large vases with shou character decorations like the present lot are very rare, and further showcases the multidimensional artistic expression of the Qianlong period.