Page 40 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art
P. 40
Image courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum
© The Trustees of the British Museum
The present lot represents one of the rarest and amongst the earliest First, the double-outlined incised six-character mark of which three
cloisonné enamel wares made for the Imperial court during the early examples are known (see the Compendium of Collections in the
Ming dynasty. Other than the present lot, only seven other Xuande Palace Museum: Enamels, 1, Beijing, 2010, pp.138-139; the one
mark and period cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze cup stands appear in the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese
to have been published. These are all of similar form and size with Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, pls.23a and
certain variations in the decorative registers and marks. 23; and the third which was sold at Sotheby’s London on 7 November
2012, lot 433).
The small number of extant examples indicate that very few were
produced; however, these were made using three different types of Second, the cast gilt-bronze four-character mark of which one
Xuande marks: example is known (see the Compendium of Collections in the Palace
Museum: Enamels, 1, Beijing, 2010, pp.138-139).
Third, the incised and blue-enamelled encircled six-character mark
(as on the present lot), of which three other examples appear to have
been published: the Sir Harry and Lady Garner example in the British
Museum, is illustrated by H.Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné
Enamels, London, 1962, pls.B and 95a; the second from the McLaren
Collection, was sold at Sotheby’s London, 16 June 1999, lot 704 and
was also illustrated by G.Eskenazi and H.Elias, A Dealer’s Hand: The
Chinese Art World through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi, London,
2012, p.242, pl.174; and the third example of this type was sold at
Phillips London, 9 June 2000, lot 234.
38 | BONHAMS
