Page 378 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

1030
A RARE CLOISONNÉ PEACOCK-FORM CENSER
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The censer is in the form of a peacock standing on clawed feet, with beak open, and its head, which is
surrounded by a gilt feather crest, is turned back towards its long trailing tail of overlapping feathers.
164 in. (42 cm.) wide, Japanese wood box
$40,000-60,000

Incense burners in the form of peacocks are very rare. They form part of a small group of cloisonné
birds from the Qianlong period, mostly intended for use as incense burners, which are notable for their
unusually naturalistic detailing and poses. See, for example, three cloisonné birds illustrated by B. Quette
in Cloisonné, Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, New York, Paris and London,
2011, no. 105 (a magpie), no. 110 (a dove), and no. 111 (a rooster). Compare, also, a pair of nearly identical
peacock-form censers from the Mandel Collection sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3909.

Peacocks were considered auspicious birds, and it is known that such birds were kept by the Qianlong
Emperor in the palace grounds. A large hanging scroll entitled Qianlong guan kong que kai ping
(‘Emperor Qianlong watching the Peacock in its pride’), dated to the cyclical wuyin year (1758), depicts a
scene of the seated Emperor observing peacocks in the imperial gardens. See The Complete Collection
of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Paintings of the Court Artists of the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1996,
pp. 194-195. The inscription on the painting recorded by the Emperor indicates that peacocks were
sent as tributary gifts from foreign dignitaries. The Emperor further noted on the painting that when at
leisure he took pleasure in watching these curious birds sway their bodies around the palace grounds;
that he admired their beautiful feathers; and that, after fve years of nurture, the birds had learned to fan
their tails.
清乾隆 掐絲琺瑯孔雀形香薰

(another view)

376