Cloisonne enamel chalice & patten + documentation
A very rare cloisonné enamel chalice and paten in European Catholic style
19th/20th century
The tall chalice brightly enamelled on the foot with two lobed cartouches containing a coat-of-arms and a view of a cathedral between two circular cartouches with a cockerel and a descending dove all above a border of leafy palmettes, the body with three further lobed cartouches containing grapes, wheat and bulrushes, the cup also with grapes, wheat and bulrushes alternating with three-lobed leaves, the paten enamelled on the central medallion with a radiating sun above a chalice placed in front of a book, a cross crossed with an anchor behind. The chalice 29cm (11 3/8in) high, the patten 14.4cm (5 5/8in) diam. (2).
Estimate:
£10,000 - 15,000
HK$ 120,000 - 180,000
CNY 96,000 - 140,000

Footnotes

  • 十九/二十世紀 掐絲琺瑯徽章紋聖杯及盤(歐洲天主教風格)

    The present chalice is particularly rare in that it features the papal coat of arms of Pius X, whose papacy began in 1903 and ended with his death in 1914. Pius X was canonised in 1954, the first Pope to be canonised since Pius V (papacy 1566-1572).

    The papal arms of Pius X are composed of the traditional elements of all papal heraldry: the shield, the papal tiara, and the keys, symbolising papal authority. The coat of arms is divided into two parts: the chief or top part shows the Lion of St Mark proper, which is a feature of the arms of the Patriarch of Venice, a position which Pius X held from 1893 to 1903. The shield displays the arms Pius X took as Bishop of Mantua: an anchor proper cast into a stormy sea lit up by a single star of gold. A similar anchor amongst waves is also seen on the paten in this lot.

    Compare two related sets of chalices and patens illustrated by N.de Bisscop, Séductions Chinoises: Art Chinois d'Exportation du XVIe au XIXe siècle, Germany, 2009, nos.6.76 and 6.77.

Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art


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Christine Mitchell Bonhams
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Auction Administration - Chinese Works of Art
Olivia Hamilton Bonhams
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Specialist - Chinese Works of Art