Page 30 - Bonhams Los Angelis December 14, 2022
P. 30

23
           A BLUE CLOISONNÉ ‘IMPERIAL POEM’ WALL VASE        The even, royal blue enameling on the present wall vase, the large
           Late Qing dynasty                                 format, and the carefully repeating pattern of lotus scroll in the gilt-
           Of faceted baluster form, the principal side centered by a gilt-metal   wire cloisons attest to the technical skill and the taste of the late
           plate inscribed with a poem attributed to a son of the Qianlong   Qing dynasty. So, too, does the reference in the inscription to the
           emperor and followed by zichen Yongxuan jingshu (‘respectfully written   High Qing period. The poem is apocryphally signed zichen Yongxuan
           by the son and official Yongxuan’), set against a rich cobalt-blue   jingshu (‘respectfully written by the son and official Yongxuan’). Prince
           cloisonné enamel ground patterned with gilt-metal cloisons in the form   Yongxuan (1746-1832), the eighth son of the Qianlong emperor (r.
           of scrolling lotus vines, all between a keyfret band above and a ruyi   1736-1795), was also known as Prince Yi of the First Rank, and
           band below, affixed to a gilt-metal stand supported on ruyi-head feet   posthumously as Prince Yishen of the First Rank. He was the longest
           and cast with composite floral scroll, the verso a plain gilt-metal sheet   living Qing dynasty imperial prince. During his lifetime, a number of
           pierced for suspension.                           cloisonné wall vases were produced which bear his poems and are
                                                             signed in the same manner as the present. The collection of the
           10 7/8in (27.6cm) high                            National Palace Museum, Taipei, includes numerous such wall vases,
                                                             including a rare example with celadon-toned monochrome cloisonné
           $6,000 - 8,000                                    enamel imitating a Guanyao vase (coll. no. 中琺000576). The same
                                                             collection also includes a monochrome blue-enameled cloisonné
           Provenance:                                       censer signed zichen Yongxuan jingshu (coll no. 中琺000159), the
           Sara Fredericks (1903-1986), likely acquired in the 1960s in New York,   lotus-pattern on which may have inspired the present wall vase.
           thence by descent
                                                             The text reads:
                                                             憐惟有態全贏李,羞是無香略遜梅,所幸一籌勝枝上,展圖常得見花
                                                             開。御題杏花 子臣永璇敬書

           28  |  BONHAMS
   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35