Page 45 - March 17, 2020 Imperial Jade and Cloisonne, Sotheby's, New York

A major influence on both the form and decoration
of enamel wares during the 18th century was
the interest in antiquity, by the Qing emperors
themselves and other members of the elite. This
fashion for antiquities strongly influenced the
design of cloisonné enamels, with ancient bronze
ritual vessels providing the greatest source of
inspiration for archaistic styles in Qing enameled
wares. This interest and influence of archaism was
not a new development of the Qing dynasty, but
arguably reached its zenith in the 18th century.
The publication of illustrated books purporting
to show bronze objects from antiquity provided
inspiration for the decorative arts as early as the
Song dynasty. From these source books, artisans
were free to improvise.
The shape of the present vessel is inspired
by ancient bronze lei, massive containers
for wine, with the form closely modeled after
those produced between the late Shang/early
Western Zhou and the Eastern Zhou periods,
such as one found at Quandu village, Fengxiang
county, Shaanxi province, illustrated in Zhongguo
qingtongqi quanji [Complete Collection of Chinese
Bronzes], vol. 5, Beijing, 1996, pl. 182. Here the
archaic form has been adapted into a faceted
hexagonal shape without handles, and decorated
with a design that blends archaistic motifs with
lotus scroll, a motif commonly found on Ming and
Qing dynasty textiles, porcelains and lacquers.
No other cloisonné enamel vessel of this unusual
form is known. However, the synthesis of archaistic
and floral motifs on cloisonné vessels of other
forms does appear on a Qianlong period tripod
censer and cover from the collection of Alfred
Morrison (1821-1897) and part of the ‘Fonthill
Heirlooms’, sold twice at Christie’s, first in their
London rooms, 18th October 1971, lot 110, and
again in their Hong Kong rooms, 1st December
2010, lot 3032. Compare also an 18th century
square-form vase sold in the same rooms, 30th
May 2006, lot 1573.