An extremely fine cloisonné enamel, lobed box and cover attributed to The Imperial Workshops of The Qianlong Emperor; Qianlong four-character mark, and of the period

Decorated in orange-red, yellow, blue, white-grey and pink enamel with a design of flowerheads and scrolling motifs on the typical turquoise ground; the domed cover with gilt knop finial and the interiors, base and rims similarly gilded.
Almost 10cm (4in) diameter. (2). Estimate: £40,000 - 50,000

Provenance: Ex. A Private American Collection.

Note: Whilst Soame Jenyns and William Watson ('Chinese Art'/ISBN 0 7148 2135 7) thought that the production of cloisonné enamel from Qianlong's Imperial Workshops was likely to have been immense, it is not necessarily an easy science to attribute pieces thereto. In some cases, of course, such as the superb ice box (V&A London/illustrated Jenyns and Watson/op cit above/page 74), there is obvious superlative technique. The rare form of the bowl and cover offered here, similarly, betrays a care and production inferring strong candidature for the Imperial workshops. Interestingly, a painted enamel box and cover of similar form, also attributed to the Imperial Workshops, is illustrated on page 260 of 'Splendours of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong' by Chuimei Ho and Bennet Bronson (2004).

Bonhams. Chinese & other Asian Works of Art, 11 May 2009. Knightsbridge www.bonhams.com (Copyright © 2002-2009 Bonhams 1793 Ltd., Images and Text All Rights Reserved)