Page 108 - Nov 28 Chinese Art Hong Kong

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A RARE IMPERIAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL TRIPOD INCENSE
BURNER, LIAN
Incised Qianlong four-character mark and ben character and
of the period
The cylindrical body raised on three cabriole legs, the exterior
decorated with two registers, each enclosing three cartouches
brilliantly enamelled in red, white, yellow, green and blue on a dark
blue ground with a blossoming lotus borne on a leafy foliate scroll
alternating with a composite floral scroll reserved on a turquoise
ground, all framed by raised gilt-bronze ribs, the underside decorated
with four gilt-bronze foliate floral sprays reserved against turquoise
ground encircling a gilt-bronze square incised with a four-character
reign mark with an additional mark, ben.
8.7cm (3 1/2in) high

HK$200,000 - 300,000
US$26,000 - 38,000

清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯纏枝蓮紋奩式三足爐
陰刻「乾隆年製」、「本」楷書款

Provenance:
An English private collection

來源：
英國私人舊藏

The present lot is inspired in form from the Han dynasty tripod circular 此爐呈奩式，器形仿自漢代酒器，如1962年山西省右玉縣大川村出土
ritual vessels known as lian. An example of such early piece was 銅溫酒樽，見《中華人民共和國出土文物展覽》，倫敦，1973年，編
excavated in 1962 at Shanxi Province, illustrated in The Genius of 號175。乾隆時期的銅胎掐絲琺瑯器，受乾隆帝慕古之風，出現很多
China: An Exhibition of Archaeological Finds of the People’s Republic 仿古及仿生造型。此奩式爐工藝精湛，造型古樸，為乾隆時期銅胎掐
of China, London, 1973, no.175. The archaistic form is consistent with 絲琺瑯仿古器中不可多得一佳例。
the Qianlong Emperor’s fascination with antiquity and his concerns
with drawing moral strength and righteousness from the early periods 乾隆時期御製銅胎掐絲琺瑯器除鐫刻紀年款外，還會出現附加刻
by emulating similar forms and designs. 字款，俗稱千字文款。其用意可能是用來區別御用銅胎琺瑯器最
初在各個宮殿、園囿的擺放位置，或在同一宮殿中不同的擺放位
The incense burner belongs to a group of gilt-bronze and cloisonne 置。亦有學者指出是當時宮廷造辦處用於標記成對或成組器物的款
enamel works of art with incised Qianlong kaishu marks and an 識，見H.Brinker 及A.Lutz著，Chinese Cloisonne: The Pierre Uldry
additional single-character kaishu mark, known as the ‘Thousand- Collection》，倫敦，1989年，頁74-79。
Character Classics’ or Qian Zi Wen. It has been suggested that the
additional character could relate to numbering, designation of location, 參看一件Brian S.McElney舊藏清乾隆銅胎掐絲琺瑯奩式爐，刻「必」
or set numbering; see H.Brinker and A.Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: 字款，器形及紋飾與此爐極其相似，見B.Till 及P.Swart，《Antique
The Pierre Uldry Collection, London, 1989, pp.74-79. Chinese Cloisonné》，維多利亞，1983年，圖31。香港佳士得曾售出
類似一例，2014年11月26日，拍品編號2916；另見倫敦佳士得曾售
Compare a very similar cloisonné enamel tripod incense burner, 出一件清乾隆獸面紋奩式爐，2012年11月6日，拍品編號46。
lian, Qianlong four-character mark and of the period, similarly incised
with an additional character bi, in the Brian S. McElney Collection,
illustrated by B.Till and P.Swart, Antique Chinese Cloisonné, Victoria,
1983, no.31.

A similar cloisonné enamel incense burner, lian, Qianlong incised
mark and period, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 26 November
2014, lot 2916; see also a related cloisonné enamel incense burner,
lian, Qianlong cast mark and period, but decorated with taotie masks,
which was sold at Christie’s London, 6 November 2012, lot 46.

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