Page 72 - Sothebys Fine Chinese Art London, November 2018

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A RARE LARGE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL Sumptuously decorated with an auspicious design, this large
‘FISH’ BASIN basin embodies the renewed interest and development of
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD cloisonné enamel during the Qianlong period (r. 1736-1795).
During his reign, the palette was expanded to more than twenty
opaque colours, enabling craftsmen to compose lavish and
the deep flaring sides rising from a flat base to an everted gilt visually appealing designs, as seen on the present vessel. The
keyfret rim, decorated to the interior with brightly enamelled clever use of the gilt bronze cloisons in depicting the waters and
carp, small fish, toads and crustaceans swimming amidst clouds endows a further sense of lavishness while emphasising
aquatic plants, all reserved against a rich turquoise-blue the lively movements of the brightly enamelled fish.
ground, the exterior decorated with a herd of deer and a flock
of cranes in a rocky landscape, the base with florets reserved Compare a closely related example in the Pierre Uldry
on a rich dark-blue ground collection, included in the exhibition Chinesisches Cloisonné.
62 cm, 24⅜ in. Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, 1985,
cat. no. 322; two sold at Christie’s Paris, one from the Juan
PROVENANCE Jose Amezaga et Maria Dolores Feijoo collection, 7 December
th
th
An American private collection. 2007, lot 38, and the other, 9 June 2015, lot 58; another sold
th
Sotheby’s New York, 1st/2nd December 1992, lot 167. at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 3039; and a fifth
The Mandel Collection. example, sold at Christie’s London, 5 December 1994, lot
th
Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2012, lot 3910. 258. See also a related basin, but the exterior predominantly
decorated in white, from the Avery Brundage collection and
EXHIBITED now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco,
High Museum, Atlanta, Georgia, exhibited on loan 1973-1992. included in the exhibition Cloisonné. Chinese Enamels from the
Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach, Florida, exhibited on loan, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, the Bard Graduate Center:
2007-2012. Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture, New York,
2011, cat. no. 113; and another from the C. Ruxton and Audrey
‡ £ 150,000-200,000 B. Love collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 20 October
th
HK$ 1,520,000-2,030,000 US$ 194,000-259,000 2004, lot 611.
The dazzling scenes on the present vessel are rich in
清乾隆 掐絲琺瑯鹿鶴魚藻紋大缸
auspicious symbolism. The idyllic landscapes on the exterior
depicting cranes (lu), deer (he), and gnarled pine trees, all
來源
popular emblems of long life, create the phrase helu tongchun
美國私人收藏
(May husband and wife enjoy longevity together); while
紐約蘇富比1992年12月12日，編號167 the interior scene of boldly coloured fish (yu), a symbol of
文德爾伉儷收藏 abundance, swimming in water (shui) form the rebus yushui
香港佳士得2012年5月30日, 編號3910 hexie (May you be as harmonious as fish and water).
展覽
1973至1992年間借展於美國佐治亞州High博物館
2007至2012年間借展於美國佛羅里達州棕櫚灘諾頓美術館

70 SOTHEBY’S