Lot 132. An extremely rare small gold pear-shaped ewer and cover, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng-Qianlong period (1723-1795); 12.7cm, 5in. Estimate 70,000 — 100,000 GBP. Lot sold 118,750 GBP. Photo Sotheby's

of finely cast pear-shaped form, delicately and intricately incised to one side with a lobed panel enclosing a stylised lotus bloom wreathed by feathery leafy scrolls, set to one side with a slender spout with a flat clasp, and to a right angle a handle terminating in zitan, surmounted by a domed cover linked to the handle by a delicate gold chain

Note: This elegant ewer is made almost entirely of gold, one of the most auspicious metals with an opulent look that catered to the Qing Emperors’ extravagant taste and fondness for luxurious objects. Its delicate small size suggests a certain intimacy between the vessels and its owner, hence it was probably for the personal use of the Emperor rather than for use as a ceremonial or ritual object, as was often the case with pure gold vessels.

Ewers of this form are rare, although a closely related example was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 9th October 2007, lot 1329. Compare a larger gold pear-shaped ewer with a tall neck, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Treasures of Imperial Court, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 212, together with two double-gourd shaped examples, pls 210 and 211; two gold ewers embellished with precious stones included in the exhibition Treasures from Snow Mountains. Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2002, pl. 101 and 108; and another with a Qianlong mark and of the period, from the Carl Kempe collection, illustrated in Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 74, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2305. See also a painted enamel ewer of similar form and with a Yongzheng mark and of the period in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 100.

The form of this ewer was inspired by wine vessels of related pear-shaped body with curving handles and domed cover. Ceramic ewers of this form became especially popular in the early 15th century; see for example three ewers unearthed from the waste heaps of the Jingdezhen kilns, included in the exhibition Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1989, cat. nos 14, 28 and 35.  Much rarer were prototypes in gold and silver, of which two related pear-shaped examples are known; one encrusted with precious stones, from the George Eumorfopulos collection and now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, included in the exhibition Ming. 50 Years that Changed China, British Museum, London, 2014, cat. no. 65, and sold in these rooms, 31st May 1940, lot 509; and the other of larger size, excavated from the tomb of Prince Zhuang of Liang, who died in 1441, illustrated in Craig Clunas, ‘The Other Ming Tombs. Kings and their Ritual Burials in Ming China’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramics Society, vol. 70, 2005-2006, p. 8, pl. 6.

This ewer is also notable for its ornate floral scroll over a ring-matted ground, which evidence the trend of blending Chinese and Western decorative elements at that period. While the technique of ring-matting was used to decorate silver vessels already in the Tang dynasty (618-907) and the use of lobed cartouches to enclose decoration was popular at least from the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) onwards, the luxuriant rococo-style curling leaves are telling traits of Western aesthetics. Much admired by the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors, such vessels were conceived through the cooperation between Jesuit missionary artists and Chinese artisans working in the Palace, who ingeniously blended the two traditions to create innovative and engaging objects.

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 13 may 2015