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Imperial cloisonné enamel bottle vase 'Yu-hu-chun ping'
Qianlong four-character mark and period, 1736 – 1795
Height: 29.2 cm | 11 1/2 in
Click image for full-size version
The pear-shaped vase is supported on a slightly splayed foot – its long neck rising and narrowing before flaring out sharply at the mouth; this form is known as ‘yu-hu-chun ping’. The main body is elaborately decorated with multi-coloured lotus flowers linked by scrolling stems and stylized leaves against a turquoise ground – the design bordered by a band, above and below, of lotus flowers, lingzhi heads and stylized bats against a dark green ground. The neck is encircled by a lotus flower and scroll band around its base, and is similarly decorated to the main body; its border bands consist of red enamel lingzhi heads on a dark blue ground. The foot of the vase displays the same colour combination on a fretwork pattern. Unusually, the base is decorated with lotus flowers and scrolls encircling a cast gilt bronze four-character Qianlong mark; this is set into the centre of the enamel base – within a gilt metal square against a dark blue ground.
The quality of the fine wirework, the variety of the expertly fired enamel colours, the rare type of Imperial mark, and the elegant form, combine to produce a classic Qing work of art. It embodies the taste and quality of the finest craftsmanship associated with the period.
Similar example: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, The Commercial Press (Hong Kong) Ltd, 2001 – no. 120 illustrates a wine vessel that bears a square four-character cast mark inset into dark blue enamel.
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