A LARGE GILT-BRONZE CLOISONNE ENAMEL TRIPOD CENSER AND COVER QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the globular body supported on three cabriole legs issuing from gilt-bronze lion masks and rising to a short straight neck with everted rim, the exterior decorated in bright enamels against a turquoise ground with large lotus blooms borne on undulating foliate scrolls with attendant buds, all below a band of linked pendent ruyi heads enclosing lotus florets and a layer of lotus lappets in gilt-bronze, the shoulder flanked by a pair of long S-shaped handles decorated in gilt with graduated keyfret pattern, the domed cover finely cast in gilt bronze with three ruyi-shaped cloisonné panels enclosing leafy lotus scrolls and strapwork reserved on a pierced bat and cloud scroll ground, all surmounted by an elaborate gilt-bronze knop pierced with a dragon and pearl amongst cloud scroll

The censer and cover are in overall very good condition with the exception of the following: small areas of blue enamel repair around the tops of the legs within the jaws of the lion mask mounts; light rugging and wear to the gilding, predominantly to the lion masks; small areas of enamel restoration to the lower edges of two of the leppet panels on the cover; light depressions to the side of the gilt finial and characteristic minor pitting to the enamels on the body and cover. The base had been drilled.
"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 present lavishly decorated magnificent censer represents the high level of artistic and technical achievement of cloisonné enamel craftsmanship during the Qianlong period. As expected of wares made for Imperial use, every aspect of the design has been carefully planned and executed to the highest standard. The quality of the workmanship suggests that this censer was either made in the Cloisonne Enamel Workshop within the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshop) located within the Forbidden City in Beijing or was a tributary item made for the emperor in one of the important workshops located in Guangzhou. All craftsmen working in this medium in the Palace Workshop were artisans recruited from Guangzhou where there was an established tradition of cloisonné enamel production. Hence, both the development and improvement of the standard of the Cloisonne Enamel Workshop were entirely dependent on the Guangzhou enamel factories.

Cloisonne enamel censers of this impressive size and decoration were made for the many temples located within the Palace compound. It was the Qianlong emperor who decided that the shapes of altar vessels should reflect those of archaic ritual paraphernalia. He ordered the Grand Secretaries to use classical material when designing ritual objects, and insisted that all designs had to be approved by him before manufacturing. Ritual objects designed under Qianlong's reign were illustrated in The Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Qing Dynasty (Huangchao liqi tushu). The present censer takes its form from archaic ritual bronze ding vessels of the Shang and Zhou periods. Censers of this type were generally part of a five-piece altar set comprising one censer in the form of a tripod ding, two candlesticks and two flower vases. The set would have been placed on an altar in front of a Buddha during ceremonies. Incense and flowers are mentioned in the Lotus Sutra as two of the main offerings, while the lamps and candles represent Buddha's wisdom that lightens up darkness and dispels ignorance. See a five piece cloisonné enamel altar set in situ in the Qianqing Gong (Mansion of Heavenly Purity) illustrated in Chiumei Ho and Bennet Bronson, Splendours of China's Forbidden City, Chicago, 2004, fig. 32.

Closely related cloisonné enamel censers can be found in important museums and private collections. For example see a censer with a Qianlong reign mark and of the period, from the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in the exhibition China. The Three Emperors, The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006, cat. no. 44. The Palace Museum censer appears to be the same as that exhibited at the Macao Art Museum in Lightness of Essence, Macao, 2003, cat. no. 106-4, where it is identified as belonging to the Forilou Temple in the Forbidden City. The Forilou was built in the 37^th year of Qianlong's reign (AD1772) and was an important place for storing Buddhist scriptures. Another Qianlong period censer of related form and decoration, but without a reign mark, is published in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonne Enamels, London, 1962, pl. 70. Garner mentions, ibid., p. 92, that the censer is one of a pair and is a fine example of the more ornate pieces from the court. See also a censer of related form but with the design of flower blooms on the body, in a private collection, illustrated in Gunhild Gabbert Avitabile, Die Ware aus dem Teufelsland, Hannover, 1981, pl. 92; an unmarked example, from the collection of the late Captain Herber Wootten, sold in these rooms, 12^th March 1982, lot 208; and a censer with a Qianlong rein mark also sold in these rooms, 14/16^th December 1983, lot 362.

Further compare a similarly formidable cloisonné enamel censer supported on three jewelled gilt-bronze elephant heads, from the Kitson collection, included in R. Soame Jenyns and William Watson, Chinese Art. The Minor Arts, London, 1963, p. 212, pl. 99; another vessel with elephant head handles and feet instead of the stylishly flaring rectangular loop handles included in the exhibition Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court, Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. no. 34; and one of the above type sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9^th October 2007, lot 1308.