A large cloisonné enamel censer and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯纏枝番蓮紋如意耳四足大蓋爐

A large cloisonné enamel censer and cover

Qing dynasty, Qianlong period 

清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯纏枝番蓮紋如意耳四足大蓋爐

of rounded rectangular section supported on four gilt cabriole legs issuing from lion masks, the body decorated with lotus blooms amidst a dense foliate scroll all against a turquoise ground, the shoulder encircled by a border of ruyi heads, the waisted neck with four broad stylized taotie masks below a galleried rim bound in keyfret, the shoulders set with two elaborate geometric handles in champlevé enamel surmounted by ruyi heads, the domed cover similarly decorated with lotus blooms framed within ruyi-form panels, below an elaborate openwork lotus knop raised on a lotus-petal base (2)

Height 17 in., 43.4 cm