Lot 133. A cloisonné enamel 'Xuanwu' water dropper, 17th century; 13cm., 5 1/8 in. Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 GBP. Lot sold 7,500 GBP. Photo Sotheby's 2014

modelled in the form of a turtle standing four square with a gilt-bronze snake curled on its back, the turtle grasping a coup in its mouth, decorated with stylised archaistic scrolls reserved on a turquoise ground.

Note: A water dropper of this type was included in the exhibition Chinesisches Cloisonné Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, 1985, cat. no. 259

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art. London, 14 mai 2014

NDB: Xuanwu: Black Tortoise or Turtle, one of the Four Symbols of Chinese astronomy.