QIANLONG INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

AN IMPERIAL CLOISONNE ENAMEL MALLOW-FORM STEM DISH
QIANLONG INCISED SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
The pentafoil dish is colourfully decorated to the interior with alternating Shou roundels and pairs of archaistic dragons on a yellow ground, surrounding a blue-ground pentafoil medallion decorated with five lotus sprays, enclosing a Shou roundel in the centre encircled by lotus petals. The exterior of the dish is decorated with a lotus bloom bearing a Shou roundel on each lobe. The wide rounded stem foot is enamelled with alternating Shou roundels and stylised bats on a yellow ground, and the base with florettes on tendrils, reserving a gilt rectangular panel inscribed with the reign mark in a vertical line.
5 1/2 in. (14 cm.) wide

Provenance

Berti Aschmann Collection, Zurich, 1980s

Literature

Reverence and Perfection: Magnificent Imperial Cloisonné Enamels from a Private European Collection, Hong Kong, 2013, no. 56

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Lot Essay

The current stem dish is very rare with its elegant lobed shape and broad stem foot, exquisitely enamelled with a myriad of colours on three different coloured grounds including Imperial yellow, bright turquoise and sapphire blue. It was possibly made to hold offerings at an altar. The multiple Shou roundels embellishing the dish convey the auspicious wish for longevity. An example of identical shape and design is in the Beijing Palace Museum Collection, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum - Enamels (2) - Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pl. 290.

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