17 | Pair of cloisonnÉ enamel quail censers Qianlong period, 1736 – 1795 Height: 16.7 cm | 6.6 in Click image for full-size version Facing right and left, respectively, the birds stand on gilt bronze legs and clawed feet - their open beaks and inlaid eyes also gilded metal. Each plump body supports a removable irregular oval cover in the form of the bird's back and wings; these are decorated with two different wirework patterns that detail the feathers - differentiating between male and female. The enamels are bright and colourful - the featherwork arranged like scales in green, blue, turquoise, black, yellow, mauve, white and light green. Quails in cloisonné enamel are not unusual, but it is this harlequin decoration - a veritable riot of colour - that makes this pair of birds distinctive. Similar examples: Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, The Asia Society Galleries, New York, 1989, no. 328 - illustrates the standard model of quail. Chinese Cloisonné, The Clague Collection, Phoenix Art Museum, 1980, plate 61 - illustrates an incense burner in the shape of a dove.