Lot 3329. A superb Beijing enamel wine-pot and cover, Yongzheng four-character mark and of the period (1723-1735); 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm.) high. Estimate HK$3,000,000 - HK$5,000,000 ($388,718 - $647,864).Price Realized HK$3,640,000 ($471,535). © Christie's Image Ltd 2014

The full pear-shaped body is elaborately enamelled in vivid tones with a frieze of colourful foliate medallions enclosing pale blue panels of classic scroll designs, interspersed by upright coxcomb springing from a band of pink lotus petals encircling the foot. All of which is on a rich yellow ground, the shoulder decorated with six cloud-shaped cartouches each enclosin g a different coloured lotus spray, above a band of pink and green interlocking ruyi-heads with floral sprays reserved on a black ground. The spout is similarly decorated and set at right angles to the zitan scroll handle, the hinged stepped domed cover encircled by floral bands on black and yellow grounds. The interior is turquoise-enamelled, and the reign mark inscribed in aubergine enamel with a double-circle surrounded by a foliate meander. 

Provenance: A private European collection, acquired in the 1950s

Note: The present wine pot belongs to a small group of known examples including the one in the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 100. Compare also with three other wine pots sold at auction, the first was included in the 40th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society, In Pursuit of Antiquity, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 2001, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 203, and subsequently sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 727 (fig. 1). The second wine pot was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 894 and the third was sold at Christie's New York, 20 September 2005, lot 120.

It is highly likely that the present lot takes its inspiration from a Western form. The Yongzheng emperor, following on from his predecessor Kangxi, was open to learning about Western advancements, particularly in the arts and sciences. The present wine pot is representative of Yongzheng's interest in the West and in the innovations which were brought from the West to China. Not only is the technique of enamelling on metal a relatively novel Western-style medium for use in the arts, but the form that the vessel has taken on is very likely from Europe, where it resembles the pots used to heat up drinking chocolate, a distinctly European beverage. 

Christie's. The Imperial Sale / Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Hong Kong, 28 May 2014