Lot 3333. A rare pair of champlevé enamel openwork barrel-form stools, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 21 in. (53.3 cm.) high (2). Estimate K$2,500,000 - HK$3,500,000 ($323,932 - $453,504). Price Realized HK$3,040,000 ($393,809). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2014

Each of the stools are modelled in barrel-form with the circular seat decorated with five stylised bats in flight, picked out in blue, pink and green enamels, against a network of floral scrolls within a key-fret border. The bats and floral motifs are repeated around the gently rounded sides, rendered with two areas of openwork in the form of confronting ruyi-heads, divided by pairs of fronted chilong cartouches. All these are on a turquois ground and in-between pink ruyi-heads and blue stylised kui dragon bands above and below. The underside base is unsealed. 

Note: Metal-bodied enamel stools in pairs are very rare. On this current pair of stools, aesthetic qualities and functionality converge harmoniously in an auspicious fashion, underscored by propitious motifs such as bats and lotus flowers. A similarly shaped cloisonna© enamel stool decorated with butterflies, floral motifs and bosses is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Enamels -4- Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2011, pl. 130. 

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