ASSEMBLED, THE ELEMENTS 17TH TO EARLY 19TH CENTURY

This remarkable cloisonné enamel group represents an interesting practice of taking elements from high-quality Ming and Qing works and combining them into opulent, and often fantastic assemblages. For another example, see the cloisonné and champlevé enamel pagoda from the C. Ruxton and Audrey B. Love Collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 20 October 2004, lot 450. The Ruxton-Love pagoda incorporates various 18^th century elements to create an elaborate pagoda and includes a drum inscribed with a Qianlong four-character mark. The practice of creating such assemblages may have evolved from the tradition of Qing craftsman at the Palace workshops updating earlier cloisonné wares with elegant establishments in contemporaneous style.