Bonhams 1793 : A pair of gilt-bronze and champlevé-enamelled quatrelobed vases Qianlong

24 Nov 2012 16:00 CST Hong Kong
Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Back to auction 20365

A pair of gilt-bronze and champlevé-enamelled quatrelobed vases

Qianlong
Each fantastically cast of irregular compressed quatrelobed form, the curved body with waisted neck framed by a sturdy upper and lower rim, the high shoulders fashioned with a prominent band of downward lappets and ruyi-heads at the mouthrim, the exterior sectioned by four vertical ribs, two sides with a centralised shou character encircled by four bats, all surrounded by Rococo-style carved leaves and lotus blossoms issuing from vine scrolls, in vivid and brilliant enamels of blue, turquoise, red, green, white, pink and black on a gilt ground.
Each: 22.2cm high. (2).

Sold for HK$ 800,000 inc. premium

Footnotes

Provenance 來源：
Christie's London, 14 July 2006, lot 114

The most unique part of the current lot is the use of pink enamels at the shoulders of the vases. Pink enamels were first used introduced in the Yongzheng period and were prized as expensive and luxurious choice of raw material. The Qianlong Emperor only allowed such rare enamels to be used on falangcai wares. It is rare to find such lavish use of pink enamels, made even rarer as they are preserved as a pair.

Champlevé technique is considered the rarest type of all Chinese metalwork. The champlevé enamelling technique is different from the rest, as contours of patterns are created by hammering the surface, further decorated with colourful enamels then fired, polished and gilded to achieve the beautiful finishing touches.

Compare a gilt-bronze and champlevé-enamelled candlestick holder in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo Jinyin Boli Falangqi Quanji 6. Falang Qi 2, Hebei, 2002, p.116, no.255 (fig.1). See also a pair of champlevé-enamelled incense burners in the form of mythical beasts in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Daily Life of a Qing Emperor, Hong Kong, 1994, p.40. Another comparable example with Qianlong incised five-character mark in the Pierre Uldry collection is illustrated by Brinker and Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: the Pierre Uldry Collection, Zurich, 1988, no.282. For examples sold at auction, see a snuff bottle example fashioned in the same method from the Mary and George Bloch collection, sold in these rooms, 27 May 2012, lot 55. See also a comparable gilt-bronze and champlevé-enamelled quatrelobed vase was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20 November 1984, lot 521.

清乾隆御製銅胎鎏金錘胎海棠式福壽紋瓶一對

此對瓶呈海棠式，造型少見，瓶、口、足折邊，短頸，鼓肩，造型曲線優美，瓶身以鎏金銅胎施金地，施多種琺瑯釉色，有藍、白、黃、綠、紅，粉紅等數種釉料，描繪出乾隆朝典型雙勾綫纏枝蓮紋、蝙蝠紋及壽字紋。蝙蝠捧壽紋飾，象徵吉祥、長壽之意，圖案繁複，造型端莊、色彩絢麗，展現出一股強烈皇室御用品風格，實為造辦處所造琺瑯精品。

此壺最特別之處在於頸部紋飾上使用了大量珍貴粉紅料，這種顏色是雍正朝所開發出來的新品種釉料，以黃金提煉，因此這種顏色釉粉成本十分高昂，其後在乾隆朝被廣泛使用在琺瑯器上。如本拍品般大量使用粉紅釉料在整器上，加上保留完整一對，十分罕見。

中國銅胎琺瑯器嚴格來說共有下列之品種，常見的掐絲琺瑯、畫琺瑯、鏨胎琺瑯、錘胎琺瑯、內堉琺瑯等。本次拍品為銅胎琺瑯器中較為少見的錘胎琺瑯器，錘胎琺琅器製作方法是在金屬胎上錘蝶出所需圖案花紋，然後填施琺琅釉料，經過焙燒、磨光、鍍金等工序而成。北京故宮博物院收藏有一件作工相似的鎏金錘胎琺瑯蠟扦(fig.1)，參考中國美術分類全集委員會編，《中國金銀玻璃琺瑯器全集6．琺瑯器(二)》，河北美術出版社， 2002，頁116，圖版255。同樣藏於北京故宮博物院的另一件以錘胎琺瑯工藝製成的錘胎作法甪端一對，可參見苑洪琪著，《清代皇帝一天的生活》，香港，1994，頁40。另可參見香港邦瀚斯，瑪麗及莊智博鼻煙壺珍藏：第五部分，2012年5月27日，拍品編號55。

在工藝以及造型相似之錘胎海棠式瓶，可見香港蘇富比，1984年11月20日，拍品編號521。此件海棠式瓶也以錘胎琺琅製成，唯長頸鼓腹，並以纏枝蓮花紋為主要紋飾。其他有關相近造型之掐絲琺瑯器海棠式瓶，可參考瑞士Pierre Uldry先生藏品，見Brinker 及 Lutz,《Chinese Cloisonné: the Pierre Uldry Collection》，蘇黎世，1988，編號282。