A RARE IMPERIAL GOLD-SPLASHED BRONZE 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' DOUBLE VASE MARK AND PERIOD OF QIANLONG

cast with two conjoined spindle-shaped vases with one side touching and sharing a common wall on the interior, one vase slightly taller than the other, the exterior crisply decorated in high relief with four deerlike mythical beast masks issuing mock rings, the taller vase with slightly more angular rounded rings, surrounded by a stylised chilong and phoenix beasts meandering around the vessel with angular scroll bodies, the scrollwork issuing tendrils and small floral blooms, the exterior of the vessel freely applied with splashes of gold, the base of the taller vase cast with a four-character reign mark within a square panel

Sotheby's London, 18th November 1998, lot 884.
Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London.

Philip K. Hu, Later Chinese Bronzes - The Saint Louis Art Museum and Robert Kresko Collections, St. Louis, 2008, cat. no. 36.

There is general surface wear, as well as dents and bruises, especially to the taller mouthrim.
"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."

Another gold-splashed bronze double vase of this form from the Qing Court collection, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Through the Prism of the Past: Antiquarian Trends in Chinese Art of the 16th to 18th Century, Taipei, 2003, p. 157. fig. III-22. See also an example from the W.W. Winkworth collection, illustrated in Spink and Son Ltd., The Minor Arts of China, III, London, 1987, p. 78, cat. no. 97, and an example illustrated by Robert H. Mowry, China's Renaissance in Bronze. The Robert H. Clague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900, Phoenix, AZ, 1994, pp. 190-191. 

A closely related example was sold in our Paris rooms, 10th June 2014, lot 21. See also two other Qianlong reign-marked gold-splashed double-vases from the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection sold in these rooms, one in the form of an arrow and guan vase, , 8th October 2009, lot 1801 and another in the form of persimmons, 8th October 2010, lot 2189.