Lot 66. A fine pair of cloisonné enamel cranes, Mid-Qing Dynasty, with French Barbedienne-style gilt-bronze mounts. Each 55.5cm (21 7/8in) high. Estimate: 280,000 - 400,000 HKD. Sold for HK$ 375,000 (€ 44,649). Photo Bonhams.

Modelled in mirror image, each standing with tall gilt-bronze legs on a quatre-lobed base raised on a mount with four elephant head feet, each foot with impressed 'H' marks on the underside, the long necks elegantly arched in an 'S'-shape with the red-crowned heads held high, the slender white neck and body intricately rendered with feathers outlined in gilt, with brightly enamelled feathers highlighting the wing and tail plumage, each pointed beak with a gilt-bronze branch of flowering prunus terminating in two 'U'-shaped candlestick holders and drip trays. 

Note: Owing to their auspicious symbolism of longevity and peace, cranes are widely seen in Chinese art. Pairs of cranes were often placed in areas of importance in palaces of the Forbidden City, and several are examples of cloisonné enamel cranes with pricket candlestick holders.

Examples of pairs of gilt-bronze and cloisonné enamel 'crane' candlestick holders of varying sizes, mid-Qing dynasty, are illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 4, Beijing, 2011, pls.69-71. See also a related pair of cloisonné enamel cranes, Qianlong, illustrated by Sir H.Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London, 1962, pl.75.

A related pair of cloisonné enamel cranes, Qianlong/Jiaqing, from the Mandel collection, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3924.