Page 210 - Sotheby's Chinese Art and Porcelain Auction New York September 12, 2018

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A PAIR OF LARGE BRONZE ‘DRAGON’ Striking for their large size and Þ nely executed design of
CANDLESTICKS imperial dragons, this pair of candlesticks belongs to a rare
QIANLONG MARKS AND PERIOD group of altar wares commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor
to furnish the many shrines, temples and ritual spaces within
each with a straight foot supporting a bell-shaped base the compounds of the Imperial palaces. Made from the Þ nest
surmounted by a tall conical shaft Þ tted with a large lower materials, including cloisonné enamel, bronze and porcelain,
tray with an everted rim and a small upper tray with a central these wares were often placed in front of altars as part of
pricket, the bell-shaped base cast in very high relief with two a Þ ve-piece altar set (wugong), which typically comprised
pairs of confronting Þ ve-clawed dragons contesting ‘ß aming an incense burner ß anked by two candleholders and vases.
pearls’, their ridged spines twisting with the motion of their Each piece of the garniture played an essential part within
scaly bodies, ß ames and whiskers ß owing from skin over the altar: candlesticks held candles, the light from the ß ames
the surrounding cloud wisps, all between a band of pendent representing the o" ering of light to dispel the darkness of
cicada-form lappets below and ruyi-head bands above, the ignorance; vases held ß owers, which were o" ered both for
‘dragon’ motif repeated around the pillar and the exterior of their beauty as well as reminders of impermanence; and the
each tray, the foot similarly decorated save for a horizontal censer at the center was used to hold incense that was not
panel with a six-character reign mark in relief, a circular plate only meant to Þ ll the room with fragrance but also to carry
sealing the underside of the foot, the patina a rich chocolate prayers skyward.
brown, the circular base carved of white marble with four Complete sets are extremely rare, although one with
cloud-form feet, a central band of cloud pattern, and an related design in Xianruo Temple, located in the garden of
upper band of petal-lappets (4) Cining Gong (Palace of Compassion and Tranquility) where
Height 19⅞ in., 50.5 cm
the empress and consorts conducted Buddhist religious
ceremonies is illustrated in situ in Qingdai gongting shenghuo,
PROVHEAD
Hong Kong, 1985, p. 299, pl. 467; and another set was sold in
British Private Collection, acquired in Hong Kong in the early our Hong Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2826.
20th century (by repute).
Candlesticks of this type, but with variations in the minor
$ 200,000-300,000 design bands, include a pair sold in our London rooms, 5th
June 1981, lot 73; another pair sold at Christie’s New York,
30th November 1984, lot 557; and a single piece sold in our
Hong Kong rooms, 9th November 2011, lot 331.
A universal monarch at the center of the world, the Qianlong
Emperor lent his support to a variety of religious institutions,
including Daoist and Buddhist temples, as well as Manchu
shamanic shrines and the buildings and altars that housed
the so-called ‘State Religion’, the worship of impersonal
Heaven. Garniture sets were used at o# cial sites, such as the
Temple of Ancestors in the Forbidden City, and at non-o# cial
halls including the Shouhuangdian located in Jinshin, the
park that lay immediately north of the Shenwu gate within
the grounds of the Imperial Palace. While state ancestral
halls feature Nurgaci (the dynastic founder) as the primary
object of workshop, halls such as the Shouhuangdian
functioned as the imperial equivalent of a family ancestral
hall for the descendants of Qianlong where his grandfather,
the Kangxi Emperor, was the primary object of workshop.
Non-state halls of worship were also used for domestic ritual
performance conducted by imperial family members.
㶭Ḧ昮ġġġ戭崽䎈暚漵䲳䆕冢ᶨ⮵
˪⣏㶭Ḧ昮⸜忈˫㫦
Ը๕
劙⚳䥩Ṣ㓞啷炻Ḵ⋩ᶾ䲨⇅⼿㕤楁㷗炷⁛炸

208 SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART