AN EXTREMELY RARE LARGE CLOISONNE ENAMEL VASE, CONG MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

the vessel of attenuated square section, with slightly tapered circular collar and slightly everted conforming lip, all on a slightly tapered circular foot, each rectangular side decorated with two vertical bands of twelve repeating trigrams within scrollwork on a teal enamel ground, centered by a vertical band of repeating bound symmetrical scrolls and twinned ruyi-heads in cobalt blue, red, yellow and pink on a turquoise ground, the collar with a similar band of bound scrollwork and modified ruyi-head motifs on turquoise ground, the underside with the incised four-character mark within a double square

S. Marchant & Son, London.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, November 2000.

The vase is overall in good condition. There is scattered pitting to the enamel, typical of the medium, slight expected rubbing to the gilding at the extremities, and scattered slight spotting/wear/oxidation to gilded surfaces. There are a few scattered minor dings to the metal, and a few scattered spots of minor fill to enamels. To the metal, there are a few scattered minor casting flaws.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The form of the present vase is based on carved jade and hardstone ritual objects of the neolithic Liangchu culture.  These objects, in the form of stone tubes with square outer sides, were ornamented with a variety of motifs, but often with shallow horizontal flanges running vertically along the sides.  The motif of the cong was utilised by potters during the Song dynasty in the creation of celadon and other ceramic vases, and was revisited during the Qing Dynasty, often manifesting in porcelains imitating Song ceramics.  The synthesis of the trigrams motif, bagua, with the cong form gives a further air of antiquity to the present vase.  The eight trigrams are the basis of one of the earliest Chinese divination texts, the I-Ching ('Book of Changes'), and are potent symbols of the mysteries of the past in themselves, doubly so when combined with the ancient cong form.

These archaistic objects and the utilization of archaistic decorative motifs of the neolithic, Shang, Zhou and Han periods, are evidence of the larger trends of archaism in later dynasties, where the forms and decorative motifs of the ancient past were used as references and signifyers of ancient times and rituals, linking the past with the present.  This evocation of the past was of particular interest to the scholarly classes, and objects referring to the ancient past were favourite accoutrements of the scholar's studio and the alters of deities and ancestors.

Cloisonné vases in the cong-form vases are rare, and only a small number appear to have been published.  Examples such as the present piece, closely related in form to the neolithic stone cong with straight cylindrical neck and foot, are even more rare, with apparently only one other known published example, possibly the mate to the present piece, of identical form and decoration and of similar size, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 779. 

Compare the smaller (4 5/8  in.) vase, illustrated in Claudia Brown, Chinese Cloisonné.  The Clague Collection, Phoenix, 1980, pl. 33, pp. 82-83, decorated with descending aerial qilong and waves with rockwork, with a later flared foot. 

There appear to be three published examples of slightly modified cong-form, with canted corners and flared neck and foot.  These include the vase decorated with phoenix in landscapes with waves and rockwork, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, attributed to the Ming dynasty, illustrated in Masterpieces of Chinese Enamel Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1971, pl. 14; a vase of similar form to the Taipei vase, removed from the Imperial summer palace Yuanmingyuan, Beijing in 1860, and attributed to the Qianlong period, decorated with dragons among scrolling clouds above waves and rockwork, sold at Christie's London, 18th October 1971, lot 116, sold again at Christie's London 1st December 1997, lot 286, and again in these rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1324; the third vase of similar form to the dragon and phoenix vases noted above, from the collection of Sir Colville Barclay, Bt., was sold in our London rooms, 27th June 1974, lot 75  That third vase was decorated with panels of birds among flowering branches.

Another cloisonné cong-form vase, with square-section rectangular body, flared square foot, and circular flared neck, decorated with a continuous view of pavilions in a watery landscape was sold in our London rooms 14th November 1964.  A similar vase from the Qing court collection, also decorated with landscapes, is illustrated in Metal-bodied Enamel Ware. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, no. 145, p. 153.  A vase more closely related in its decoration to an archaic cong, with a square-section rectangular body and flared circular foot and neck, decorated along the edges of the sides with horizontal incised bars, against an enamel ground depicting bats among lingzhi clouds, was sold in these rooms 2nd November 1994, lot 324.