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An Imperial fine and rare cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze incense burner and tiered stand
Cast Qianlong four-character mark and of the period
Formed in three parts, the centre as a globular bowl cast in crisp high relief with monks praying and attending a Buddhist image, accompanying a figure of a Buddha on an elephant, and surrounded by auspicious animals, an incense burner at one side issuing plumes of smoke, all on a pale turquoise ground densely enriched with foliage and leafy coils, standing on three lion-mask stocky legs and set with two relief-cast scroll handles at the sides, the upper section as a separate cylinder simulating a circular Buddhist shrine allowing access to the interior through six apertures each surrounded by elaborately-coiling and confronted dragons beneath a flaming pearl, the top set with a stylised tiled roof, all standing on a circular tiered partially-zitan base, applied with two horizontal bands of cloisonné enamel edging and set with six 'dragon and phoenix' panels cast in crisp relief.
The incense burner 38cm (15in) high, overall 58cm (22½in) high (3).
Formed in three parts, the centre as a globular bowl cast in crisp high relief with monks praying and attending a Buddhist image, accompanying a figure of a Buddha on an elephant, and surrounded by auspicious animals, an incense burner at one side issuing plumes of smoke, all on a pale turquoise ground densely enriched with foliage and leafy coils, standing on three lion-mask stocky legs and set with two relief-cast scroll handles at the sides, the upper section as a separate cylinder simulating a circular Buddhist shrine allowing access to the interior through six apertures each surrounded by elaborately-coiling and confronted dragons beneath a flaming pearl, the top set with a stylised tiled roof, all standing on a circular tiered partially-zitan base, applied with two horizontal bands of cloisonné enamel edging and set with six 'dragon and phoenix' panels cast in crisp relief.
The incense burner 38cm (15in) high, overall 58cm (22½in) high (3).
Sold for
£780,450
inc. premium
Footnotes
- 清乾隆 御製銅胎鎏金掐絲琺瑯佛教人物故事圖雙耳三足大香爐
陽文「乾隆年製」楷書款
The present incense burner is demonstrably one of the finest examples of Imperial cloisonné enamel craftsmanship and technical ingenuity produced during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. This is evident in the complex form and design and the attention to detail, from the cast and then finely-chased gilt-bronze figural scenes around the body, to the gilt-bronze pagoda tiers and the impressive size. This quality is matched in the remarkable and complex stand incorporating precious woods, champlevé and cloisonné enamel techniques and superbly-chased gilt-bronze plaques depicting alternating dragon and phoenix. It is reasonable to deduct that such a creation would have been especially commissioned by the Imperial Court for the use of the Emperor and would have been made possibly as a single pair.
Compare a related gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel incense burner and cover, attributed to the Qianlong period (71cm high), illustrated in Colorful, Elegant and Exquisite: A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Ware from Mr Robert Chang's Collection, Suzhou, 2007, pp.106-107.
Category: Asian Art / Chinese Works of Art
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