A PART-GILT CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL TRIPOD CENSER AND COVER

Description:

China, Jiaqing period
H. 42 cm
The globular body raised on three cabriole legs issuing from gilt mythical beast masks, rising to a straight neck and everted rim, flanked by two handles set to the shoulder, enameled allover with a turquoise ground and colorful lotus blooms, framed by a ruyi band at the shoulder, the neck encircled by a floret border.
South German private collection, assembled before 2000
The censer is of ding form, based on the shape of archaic ritual vessels of the Shang dynasty. Its cauldron-like shape, standing on three short slightly curved legs, reflects the predilection in the Ming and Qing periods for vessels in the form of archaic bronzes of the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Although the overall outlines of the archaic models were retained, the imperial craftsmen liberally interpreted original decorative motifs, such as the leiwen-inspired keyfret scroll to the handles, incorporating them with more contemporary lotus scrolls to the body
Small losses top enamels, minor traces of age