QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The poem inscribed on the current vase was composed by the Qianlong Emperor, recorded in Qing Gaozong yuzhi shiwen quanji, Compilation of Imperial Poems, vol. 1, juan 1 (fig. 1). Compare with three other similar cloisonné enamel wall vases in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, decorated with different floral-form handles and imperial poems corresponding to each of the flowers, see collection numbers: zhong-fa-000162 (magnolia, fig. 2), zhong-fa-000577 (osmanthus), and zhong-fa-000579 (peach blossoms). All three examples and the present vase bear the seals of Yu Minzhong (1714-1779), a prominent scholar-official during the Qianlong period, suggesting that each of the inscription is probably based on an original by him.