Page 211 - Sothebys Speelman Gems of Chinese Art

It is rare to find a Ming dynasty Imperial cloisonné enamel current incense burner was at some point detached from the
incense burner of this high quality, created in the form of a pedestal, possibly a stylised lotus leaf like the Beijing example,
mandarin duck. Another closely related example from the and during the Qianlong period the reign-marked circular
Qing Court collection, depicted standing on a stylised lotus pedestal was specifically created for it.
leaf, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in
Qing dynasty examples are much more frequently found. See
The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum.
a pair of incense burners in the shape of ducks, attributed to
Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 76. The
the 17th century, from the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated
overall structure, modelling technique and precise treatment
in Helmut Brinker and Albert Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné. The
of the enamelled design and specific details including the
Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, no. 220. See also a
poised webbed feet, closely relate to the current example.
Qianlong period duck-form incense burner, in the Museum
For another Ming dynasty bird-form incense burner, see für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, published in Gunhild Gabbert
a cloisonné enamel example in the form of a waterfowl in Avitabile, Die Ware aus dem Teufelsland: Chinesische und
the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel japanische Cloisonné- und Champlevé-Arbeiten von 1400
Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 42. bis 1900, Frankfurt, 1981, cat. no. 102; another in the Palace
See also a goose-form incense burner, lacking its pedestal, Museum, Beijing, included in Zhongguo jin yin boli falangqi
from the collection of David David-Weill and now in Musée quanji [Complete works of Chinese gold, silver, glass and
des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, is illustrated in Beatrice Quette, enamelware], vol. 6: Falangqi II [Enamelware II], Shijiazhuang,
ed., Cloisonné. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and 2002, pl. 42, together with an incense burner in the form of a
Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p. 277, cat. no. 104. The mythical beast, pl. 41.

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