A Magnificent and Very Large Imperial Cloisonne Enamel ‘Phoenix’ Tripod Censer and Cover, Qianlong period (1736-1795). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013

The compressed globular censer is elaborately decorated with a dense design of linked lotus blossoms, exotic flowers and berries amidst foliate scrolls, below six ruyi-shaped panels enclosing further composite flowers and plants reserved on a purple ground around the shoulder. The body is supported on three gilt-bronze blades emerging from dragon-heads, and is flanked by a pair of magnificent gilt-bronze handles cast in the form of phoenixes in profile with elegantly upcurving feathery wings. The broad mouth is encircled with a gilt band of lappets. The domed cover is enamelled with further ruyi-shaped panels containing flowering branches, surmounted by a gilt knop finial pierced with a scaly dragon and a 'flaming pearl' amidst dense clouds and rocks. 31 3/4 in. (80.6 cm.) high. Estimate $1,553,268 - $2,329,902

Provenance: William Jardine (1784-1843), the founder of Jardine Matheson.
Sir Robert Jardine (1825-1905)
Sold at Sotheby's London, 12 November 1974, lot 163

Literature: Reverence and Perfection: Magnificent Imperial Cloisonné Enamels from a Private European Collection, Hong Kong, 2013, no. 2

Notes: The present censer, with its majestic construction, exquisite enamelling and elaborately cast handles, is undoubtedly made for imperial use and is representative of Qing imperial cloisonné enamels of the highest quality.

The firing of large-sized vessels such as the current censer required not only a firing kiln of considerable size, but also the technology necessary to ensure the heated metal would not distort while the enamels were being evenly fired. It was not until the high Qing period when such technique reached its apogee, enabling the successful production of monumental cloisonné enamel vessels of complicated design, the present censer being an oustanding example of this group. This became possible due to two key factors.

Firstly, during the Yongzheng reign the palace enamel workshop was greatly expanded in scale, with the addition of numerous large firing kilns which facilitated the production of large-sized enamel wares. According to the palace records for example, a total of 55 firing kilns were newly installed in the enamel workshops in the 11th year of the Yongzheng reign (1733). Such large number of kilns could be accommodated because the enamel firing site was extended beyond the palace grounds. A number of court records indicate that several improvements had been made to the firing facilities at the imperial workshops under the auspices of the Yongzheng Emperor, accounting for the massive production of cloisonné enamels of remarkable quality and size during the 18th century (refer to Radiant Luminance: The Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court, Taipei, 2012, pp. 86-89).

Secondly, after the sixth year of the Yongzheng reign (1728), the palace enamel workshops succeeded in experimenting with locally manufactured enamels and instigated the production of a whole new range of enamel colours, allowing the enamellers at court to deploy a wide array of colours to create complex designs on vessels such as those on the present censer. Of particular significance is the production of two new enamel colours, pink and white, which gave rise to the novel famille rose palette on porcelains and allowed decorations on enamelled wares to be executed with more sophisticated colour gradations, giving them a 'painterly' quality. A case in point is the floral motifs on the current censer, in which the petals and leaves are rendered in various graduating colours and tones simulating flower paintings on paper or silk.

The extremely ornate phoenix handles cast with painstaking details are also of unprecedented quality, and are reminiscent of the rococo style in vogue in contemporaneous Europe, which noticeably provided inspiration for certain works of art produced for the Qing court especially during the Qianlong period. These handles are in a style very similar to a cloisonné enamel rhyton attached with a gilt-bronze phoenix in profile, also cast with great details and dating to the Qianlong period, from the Robert Chang Collection (fig. 1) and included in the exhibition Colorful, Elegant, and Exquisite: A Special Exhibition of Imperial Enamel Ware from Mr. Robert Chang's Collection, Suzhou Museum, 2007-2008, Catalogue, pp. 34-35. The Qing Court Collection has a number of cloisonné enamel censers and other vessels set with similar gilt-bronze phoenix handles, although none of them are executed with the same degree of meticulous attention to details. Examples include a cloisonné enamel censer with handles in the form of phoenixes with abstract scrolling bodies; a cloisonné enamel zun with phoenix handles of similar shape but of more simplistic form; and a cloisonné enamel censer flanked by a pair of abstract stylised phoenix handles, all dating to the mid-Qing period and illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum - Enamels (3) - Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pls. 197, 77 and 206 respectively.

The present censer is a close comparison to a Qianlong period cloisonne enamel tripod censer of smaller size (40.6 cm. high) from the Robert Chang Collection, which is also decorated on the body and the cover withruyi-shaped panels enclosing dense design of flowers and foliage, but flanked by gilt-bronze handles in the form of dragons (fig. 2), also illustrated op. cit, 2007-2008, Catalogue, pp. 56-57. Compare also to another censer from the Qing Court Collection, densely decorated with quatrefoil panels with gilt-bronze dragon handles, illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum - Enamels (3) - Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pl. 205 (fig. 3).

Christie's. REVERENCE AND PERFECTION - MAGNIFICENT IMPERIAL CLOISONNE ENAMELS FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION. 29 May 2013. Convention Hall.