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

of archaic bronze ding shape, the globular body decorated in bright cloisonné enamels with a band of alternating green and blue recumbent kui dragons above inverted lappets on a ground of hexagonal lattice work enclosing flower heads, each lappet enclosing a pair of back-to-back upright kui dragons, the domed cover similarly decorated with alternating blue and green recumbent beasts below a flower head diaper ground, applied with three gilt-bronze recumbent deer on the shoulder and surmounted by a naturalistically rendered recumbent elephant richly adorned across the body with a bejewelled harness and beaded garlands embellished with an enamel decorated saddle draped over its back on which a ribboned double gourd vase sits, the censer raised on three cabriole legs with gilt lion-mask terminals flanked by curved upright loop handles, the base inscribed with an apocryphal four-character Jingtai mark within a square border

Rothschild Collection.

The censer is in reasonably good condition, but has had damage to one leg where it had been detached from the body. It has now been pinned to the body, but the pin has worked slightly loose from the leg and there has been some restoration to areas of the diaper ground to the body around the leg, some areas of which have discoloured and have fallen off. There is some areas of flaking/chipping to the enamel to the cover and the body and some rubbing and scratching to areas of the gilding. There is a small area of restoration to the enamel at the base of the double gourd vase that sits on the back of the elephant finial.
"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 high quality of workmanship is clearly shown by the expert casting of the vessel, the decoration that displays a choice of colours and an unusual design, and the cover decorated with animal figures rarely seen on cloisonné censers of this type. The piece reflects the sophistication and confidence of the artist to experiment with more unusual motifs and colour schemes, and the apocryphal Jingtai reign mark is placed to serve as a tribute to the past.  

The censer is of ding form, based on the shape of archaic bronze ritual vessels. Its cauldron-like shape, standing on three powerful short legs, reflects the predilection in the Qing period for bronzes of the Shang and Zhou periods. Although the overall outlines of the archaic models were retained, the maker of this piece has exercised his imagination and has mixed contemporary elements with traditional designs.

This censer was most likely a centrepiece for a five-piece altar set, flanked by a pair of candlesticks and two vases, or possibly one of two censers placed at the altar of an ancestral hall. Cloisonné enamel wares were often used for internal furnishing and decoration for their striking and glamorous appearance. They were also made for use in daily rituals, banquets and religious ceremonies.

See a pair of ding form censers flanking an imperial throne in the Qingyanggong, illustrated in Helmut Brinker and Albert Lutz, Chinesisches Cloisonne – Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Zurich, 1985, p. 24, fig. 4. Compare another censer as part of an altar set in the Yonghegong, the Lamaist Temple in Beijing. One of these altar sets was brought to France in the aftermath of the 1860 sacking of the Summer Palace, and is displayed in Fontainebleau, illustrated in Le Musee Chinois de l'Imperatrice Eugenie, Paris, 1994, p. 26, fig. 18. See another censer and cover decorated with an archaistic motif, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Gugong falangqi xuancang, Taipei, 1971, pl. 20. A richly decorated cloisonné censer with a Qianlong mark and of the period was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8^th October 2006, lot 1077; and another pair of covered censers was also sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 11^th April 2008, lot 3040.

The recumbent elephant, serving as the knop for the cover of the vessel, is reminiscent of that seen on 18^th century bronze censers, often with a pierced cover surmounted by a caparisoned elephant supporting a vase on its back. For example, see one sold in these rooms, 29^th October 1982, lot 146; and another offered at Christie's New York, 26^th March 2010, lot 1322. The elephant embodies strength, wisdom and intelligence in Chinese tradition, while the vase represents eternal harmony. Elephants with vases on their backs came to represent universal piece. See a pair of cloisonné elephants flanking the elaborate throne in the Taihedian in the Forbidden City depicted in situ in Imperial Life in the Qing Dynasty, Singapore, 1989, p. 46.

The inspiration for placing animals on the cover, as seen on the present piece, comes from archaic bronze vessels. See figures of deer and tiger cast on the cover of a Warring States period container illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji, vol. 14, Beijing, 1993, pls. 31-33, in the collection of the Yunnan Provincial Museum. Reclining rams can also be found on the cover of an archaistic bronze tripod ding sold in our New York rooms, 19^th March 2007, lot 79; and on another sold in these rooms, 19^th October 1977, lot 4.