Lot 36
A very rare Imperial cloisonné enamel and openwork gilt-bronze 'five-dragon' box and cover Incised Qianlong six-character mark and of the period
Amended
28 November 2017, 14:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceHK$1,200,000 - HK$1,500,000
Looking for a similar item?
Our Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A very rare Imperial cloisonné enamel and openwork gilt-bronze 'five-dragon' box and cover
Incised Qianlong six-character mark and of the period
The quatrefoil box standing on three cloud-shaped feet, brilliantly decorated in bright enamels of red, yellow and blue on a rich turquoise ground with four gilt-bordered cartouches enclosing leafy floral blooms framed within flowerhead diaper borders, the gilt-bronze domed cover exquisitely and intricately rendered in openwork with four five-clawed sinuous dragons amidst undulating cloud scrolls, surmounted by a knob decorated with a front-facing dragon at the top raised on bands of cloisonné enamel scrolling florets and lappets, wood stand. 12.8cm (5in) wide (3).
The quatrefoil box standing on three cloud-shaped feet, brilliantly decorated in bright enamels of red, yellow and blue on a rich turquoise ground with four gilt-bordered cartouches enclosing leafy floral blooms framed within flowerhead diaper borders, the gilt-bronze domed cover exquisitely and intricately rendered in openwork with four five-clawed sinuous dragons amidst undulating cloud scrolls, surmounted by a knob decorated with a front-facing dragon at the top raised on bands of cloisonné enamel scrolling florets and lappets, wood stand. 12.8cm (5in) wide (3).
Footnotes
清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺瑯海棠式香薰 陰刻「大清乾隆年製」楷書款
Provenance:
Georges Emile Léonard Theunis (1873 – 1966), by repute; Theunis was the Belgian Prime Minister from December 1921 – May 1925 and again from November 1934 – March 1935. During World War I he headed the Belgian Wartime Provisions Commission in London and was involved after the war in the Paris Peace Conference, 1919, serving as the Belgian delegate to the Reparations Commission. From 1926 – 1927 he chaired the International Economic Conference in Geneva. He was governor of the National Bank of Belgium from 1941 – 1944 and served during World War II as a special Ambassador to the USA.
A Belgian private collection, 1966 – circa 2007, by repute
來源：
傳Georges Emile Léonard Theunis（1873 - 1966年）舊藏
Theunis曾分別於1921年12月至1925年5月，及1934年11月至1935年3月擔任比利時總理。在第一次世界大戰期間，他曾在倫敦擔任比利時的戰時物資供應委員會首領，並在1919年代表比利時賠償委員會參與了戰爭後的巴黎和平會議。1926至1927年，他曾在日內瓦擔任國際經濟大會主席。後來於1941至1944年任比利時國家銀行行長，並在二戰期間擔任特駐美國大使。
傳比利時私人收藏，於1966年至約2007年間蒐得
The present lot exemplifies the opulence and exceptional technical virtuosity achieved in the cloisonné enamel ateliers during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. This is evident in the combination of the superb cloisonné enamel craftsmanship with the exquisite complex gilt-bronze design of four full-face five-clawed dragons amidst waves, with the design cleverly allowing movement for the dragon sections, surmounted by a fifth five-clawed dragon on the finial. Whilst many examples of cloisonné enamel are in the Imperial collections in Beijing and Taipei, very few exhibit the level of sophistication and intricacy of design and workmanship demonstrated in this remarkable box and cover.
It is very rare to find a gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel box and cover of quatrefoil form decorated with diaper borders. The design of the flower-head diaper borders was most probably inspired from textiles which are referred to as jinwen or brocade pattern. Compare a related cloisonné enamel quatrefoil box and cover, mid-Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection, also decorated with a brocade pattern design, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Enamels, Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty, 3, Beijing, 2011, p.308, no.207.
香薰銅胎，作海棠式，直壁，下承如意形四足。蓋面鏤空，飾四組五爪雲龍，兩兩對稱盤旋於祥雲間，銅鍍金龍紋鈕，鈕壁以掐絲琺瑯飾忍冬紋及蕉葉紋。器內露胎，外壁施淺藍琺瑯釉為地，掐絲填彩飾花卉錦紋。底鍍金，鏨陰文「大清乾隆年製」楷書款。此香薰蓋部龍紋設計十分精妙，結合鑲嵌及鏤空工藝，將四組可活動龍紋扣接於如意雲紋上，取放爐蓋時，龍紋隨即移動，獨顯巧匠精工。
乾隆一朝，掐絲琺瑯燒造工藝展現出前所未有的繁榮景象，不僅產量空前，用途廣泛，技術高超，造型新穎，種類繁多，且裝飾題材及技藝更加多樣化，此香薰即為其中一例。傳世品中，以海棠式為形制的掐絲琺瑯器相對少見，見北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件清中期掐絲琺瑯錦紋海棠式盒，雖為蓋盒，但其形制及紋飾均與此香薰類似，著錄於《故宮博物院藏品大系：琺瑯器編3清掐絲琺瑯》，北京，2011年，頁308，編號207。
Saleroom notices
Provenance: Georges Emile Léonard Theunis (1873 – 1966), by repute; Theunis was the Belgian Prime Minister from December 1921 – May 1925 and again from November 1934 – March 1935. A Belgian private collection, 1966 – circa 2007, by repute 來源： 傳Georges Emile Léonard Theunis（1873 - 1966年）舊藏；Theunis曾分別於1921年12月至1925年5月，及1934年11月至1935年3月擔任比利時總理 傳比利時私人收藏，於1966年至約2007年蒐得
Additional information
Bid now on these items
