Page 101 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 London

The form of the present lot derives from the As the companion of Shoulao, the God of
ancient bronze hu vessel, but here it exhibits the Longevity, the deer is a symbol of long life, and
full vibrancy and complexity of the 18th century is the only animal able to track down the elusive
Imperial style. The simplicity of the form is lingzhi fungus. The deer (鹿 lu) is also a pun for
complemented by the striking horizontal bands, emolument (祿 lu); it thus became a popular
allowing for a clever interplay between the deer on subject matter in Chinese art.
the ground in the lower register and the birds and
branches on the upper.
Compare a similarly-shaped vase, also dated to
the Qianlong period and exhibited in the Brooklyn
Museum, Eighteenth Century Chinese Cloisonné
in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, also illustrated by
B.Quette, Cloisonné: Chinese Enamels from the
Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011,
no.83.

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