A pair of cloisonné enamel tripod censers and covers, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 掐絲琺瑯饕餮紋靈芝鈕三足蓋爐一對

Sotheby's London, 29th October 1982, lot 24.

倫敦蘇富比1982年10月29日，編號24

The present pair of censers represents the high level of artistic and technical achievement of enamel craftsmanship during the Qianlong period . In response to the Emperor's eclectic taste, the art of cloisonné enamelling saw a great resurgence in techniques and decoration. Glamorous and visually striking, these censers were either produced in the Cloisonné Enamel Workshop within the Zaobanchu (Palace Workshops) located in the Forbidden City, or were tributary items made for the Emperor in Guangzhou. 

The Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736-1795) was a keen collector of objects that were modelled after relics from antiquity. These censers, with their cauldron-like shape standing on three powerful legs, takes their form from archaic ritual bronze ding vessels of the Shang (16th century-c.1050 BC) and Zhou (c.1050-221 BC) periods. Although the overall outline of these vessels follows the archaic models, the Qing craftsmen exercised their imagination and made liberal changes to the decoration of its prototype. For example, the geometric design vividly adorning the main band on the body derives from archaistic taotie and dragon designs, while the intricately cast knob, modelled as the auspicious fungus, lingzhi, further heightens the vitality and auspiciousness of the overall design. Thus, the Qing craftsmen have successfully created contemporary marvels that are at once familiar and innovative.

Cloisonné censers of comparable shape include one enamelled with an abstract cicada design, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty, vol. (II), Beijing, 2011, pl. 176; and a large Qianlong mark and period censer decorated with a geometric pattern on the body, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th October 2006, lot 1077. Compare also a cloisonné censer with a lingzhi knob surmounting the cover, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty, vol. (III), Beijing, 2011, pl. 212.