A rare lacquer-gilt and enamelled ivory vase, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 染色牙雕開光花鳥紋雙活環耳方尊

A private collection, acquired in Paris between the 1970s and early 1990s.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 4th April 2012, lot 3074.

私人收藏，1970-1990年代初購於巴黎

香港蘇富比2012年4月4日，編號3074

The exquisite carving and superior quality of this ivory vase suggest an imperial commission or a palace workshop attribution from the Qianlong period. Ivory vases are rare, and this piece is notable for its rich, deep carving and the elegant design of birds perched on flowering branches. The flowers depicted symbolise the four seasons: spring with peach blossom, summer with peony, autumn with camellia, and winter with prunus. This vase epitomises the ivory carving style of the Imperial Workshops during the eighteenth century, combining two dominant carving styles that had emerged from the beginning of the Qing dynasty: the intricate craftsmanship of Suzhou in the south and the polished textural effects of the private and court-owned workshops in the north, in Beijing.

Under the patronage and taste of the Qianlong Emperor, court artisans created a unique courtly style of ivory carving. The designs were characterised by a fusion of elaboration and restraint. Detailed knife work was the focal point of intricate motifs, while simpler designs relied on smooth, highly finished surfaces. An imperial stateliness was achieved through the addition of colour with gilt lacquer and staining in carefully selected areas.

No other directly related example appears to have been published, although vases of this facetted form with deeply carved panels are known. For comparison, see a pair of larger vases of broader proportions, depicting Immortals in landscapes and flanked by ringed mask-head handles, sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 25th May 2011, lot 465. A later vase and cover, similarly carved with panels of flower sprays but with a lozenge-shaped section and also flanked by ringed mask-head handles, was offered in our New York rooms, 30th March 2006, lot 140. Additionally, a pair of tall, square-section baluster vases with dragon handles, each side decorated with scenes from Sanguozhi yanyi (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), from the collection of Sir Victor Sassoon, is illustrated in S.E. Lucas, The Catalogue of Sassoon Chinese Ivories, vol. 2, pls. 484A-D.