A RARE ZITAN AND GILT-BRONZE EWER AND COVER QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD |

of square section, skilfully carved to stand sturdily and rising to a rim with one lobed side, the exterior divided into three main registers with two gilt-bronze bands delicately detailed with floral motifs, each register finely and neatly carved with dense motifs of kui dragons rendered in archaistic angular scrollwork, one side set with a gilt-bronze spout, the opposite with two gilt-bronze floral roundels suspending a loose ring, all between two further gilt-bronze bands bordering the rim and base, the cover similarly mounted with a gilt-bronze band and surmounted with a coral finial

This ewer is a rare and unusual interpretation of the Tibetan ritual vessel, duomuhu. Made of the highly prized wood zitan, it has transformed the cylindrical vessel into a modern version of square section that is inspired by archaism. Such adaptations of traditional objects reflect the style of the Qianlong Emperor, who had a penchant for the novel and an element of surprise. Elegantly designed vessels of this type would have enjoyed a place of prestige in Buddhist ceremonies at court during his reign.  The Qianlong Emperor’s devotion to Tibetan Buddhism directed the production of many sophisticated ritual implements. The form originates from a Tibetan wood and metal vessel which was used to store butter and for making the traditional buttered tea for religious ceremonies. This humble prototype was reproduced into splendid ceremonial vessels under the Qianlong Emperor, but manufactured using the highest quality materials and techniques of the time; for example see an exceptional gold-bodied example decorated with cloisonné and Beijing enamels, included in the exhibition China. The Three Emperors, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2006, cat. no. 54, and sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2842; and a famille rose-decorated porcelain example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonné Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration. Hong Kong, 1999, no. 98. A shorter ewer with two registers, made from gilded-copper, in the Tibet Museum, was included in the exhibition Treasures from Snow Mountains. Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2001, cat. no. 105, together with a gilded silver example, cat. no. 106.