Page 212 - Bonhams Chinese Art NYC Nov 9 2017

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A CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ICEBOX AND COVER WITH Large ice chests of this type were used in the palaces during the hot
HARDWOOD STAND summer months. They were filled with ice and placed in certain rooms
Qianlong six-character mark, 19th century used by the Imperial family. The ice was used to cool drinks, fruit and
The box made of hardwood and of square tapering form, encased sweet snacks, as well as cooling the surrounding area and somewhat
within sheets of metal and divided into three registers and flanked alleviating the oppressive heat of Beijing, which the Manchu emperors
by two pairs of handles, decorated around the exterior with various found so uncomfortable. While usually placed on stands, like the
auspicious birds, insects and flowers, the cover comprising of two current example, these chests were sometimes placed directly on the
panels depicting magpies on a gnarled prunus, all on a blue diaper- floor beneath tables to cool both the food and those seated at the
pattern ground, suported on a dark wood stand with four cabriole legs, table. In winter ice blocks were cut from the Inner Golden River and
the aprons carved with meandering floral scrolls. were stored in the five ice vaults in the Forbidden City near the Gate
With stand 88cm (34 5/8in) high x 72.5cm (28 5/8 in) square. (4). of the Great Ancestors. During the period from the first day of the fifth
month to the twentieth day of the seventh month specific members
£20,000 - 30,000 of the Imperial Household Department received an allocation of two
CNY180,000 - 270,000 blocks of ice per day. Surviving records indicate that originally the
ice chests were made of wood, and usually lined with lead, like the
十九世紀 銅胎掐絲琺瑯花鳥圖冰盒 example in the Victoria and Albert Museum illustrated by C.Clunas
「大清乾隆年製」篆書仿款 in Chinese Furniture, London, 1997, p.99, no.89, or lined with zinc
as in the case of the example in the Musée Guimet illustrated by
M.Beurdeley, Chinese Furniture, Tokyo, 1979, p.95, no.130. However,
by the 18th century ice chests destined for the apartments of the
empress and dowager empress are recorded as being made of plain
bronze with pewter linings. See one of a pair of cloisonné enamel ice
chests, Qianlong mark and of the period, illustrated in The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Metal-bodied Enamel
Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pl.129.

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210 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.