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© The Trustees of the British Museum Bonhams Hong Kong, 4 December 2008, Lot 202

The Qianlong Emperor was a keen collector of objects of the past, now preserved in the Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang, and
advocating to restore ancient ways, suggesting that craftsmen turn to illustrated by J.Cahill, 3000 Years of Chinese Painting, New Haven,
antiquity for models which would enable them to imbue their designs 1997, p.123, fig.114. Cranes were also a recurring subject in the
with simplicity and honesty in order to achieve refinement paintings of the Jesuit Court artist Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766).
and elegance. Further symbolism is imbued in the lotus, as one of the Eight Buddhist
Emblems, and bajixiang and its association with purity.
The present vessel is a magnificent example of the Qianlong period,
combining the archaistic form derived from the Shang and Zhou Compare with a similar pair of cloisonné enamel incense burners
dynasties ding ritual vessel, with the opulent taste of the Qing Court, and covers with crane supports bearing similar dragon handles,
utilising the vibrantly-colourful cloisonné enamel embellished with the Qianlong, which were sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 4 December
gilt bronze dragon finial and handles. The master craftsman has further 2008, lot 202. See also a similar pair of cloisonné enamel incense
elevated the vessel, both in height and in extravagance by using three burners and covers with crane supports but with upright cloisonné
long-legged cranes instead of cabriole legs as supports. enamel handles, Qianlong, in the British Museum, London, one of
which is illustrated by E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The
The magnificent vessel is imbued with auspicious associations as Three Emperors 1662-1795, London, 2005, pl.304; for another similar
often seen on other Imperial works of art. The cranes symbolise example see H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre
Immortality and are often shown as companions to Shoulao, the God Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pl.323; and compare with a pair
of Longevity. Paintings of cranes had been popular in the Imperial similar to the British Museum example, which was sold at Sotheby’s
Court since the Northern Song dynasty, when the Huizong Emperor New York, 18 March 2014, lot 359.
(1082-1135) himself painted an iconic handscroll, ‘Auspicious Cranes’,

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