AN IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE IMPERIAL MING CLOISONNE ENAMEL CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER
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以中文顯示 (Set Currency)

HK$1,200,000 - HK$1,500,000
• ($155,535 - $194,419)

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Sale 2711
the imperial saleimportant chinese ceramics and works of art
27 May 2009
Convention Hall Buy Catalog

AN IMPORTANT AND EXTREMELY RARE IMPERIAL MING CLOISONNE ENAMEL CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER
XUANDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)

The box finely enamelled in bold tones of iron-red, white, blue and yellow against a turquoise-ground, the upper surface depicting a single large stylised Indian lotus bloom with serrated radiating petals borne on two stems growing further smaller lotus flowers decorating the periphery, the vertical sides of the cover similarly decorated with a band of lotus flowers borne on an undulating vine, repeated on the side of the box, the underside incised with the reign mark written in a vertical line
3 1/4 in. (8.2 cm.) diam.

明宣德 掐絲琺瑯番蓮紋圓盒 鏨《明宣德年製》楷書直款

明朝初期掐絲琺瑯器甚為少見，琺琅作生產均受控於御用監在內府燒造，產量遠少於十七世紀末期造辦處之出品。

北京故宮博物院藏有一件稍大的掐絲琺瑯瓜果紋圓盒,見故宮博物院藏文物全集《金屬胎琺瑯器》圖版32，此器蓋、盒雖非原偶，但其造型、紋飾、釉色等方面都具宣德時間的典型特點，與本拍品如出一轍。

另有一件十五世紀初，無論大小、紋飾均與本拍品相仿的圓盒原為 Harry Garner 爵士之舊藏，現由Pierre Uldry所藏 ，見 H. Brinker 和 A. Lutz合編《 Chinese Cloisonné : The Pierre Uldry Collection》圖版12，盒底鏨兩個字，應為藏家之名。

另有三件傳世的圓盒，紋飾相異但均帶有相仿的宣德款。見於Harry Garner 爵士著《 Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels : The Pierre Uldry Collection》圖版23，飾石榴紋；圖版24， 飾柿子紋；圖版24b， 飾葡萄紋。

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A French private collection

Cloisonné enamel wares from the early Ming period are rare as production was strictly regulated by the Palace eunuchs who operated under the auspicies of the Yuyongjian, a sub-division of the Neifu, 'The Inner Treasury', responsible for supplies to the Imperial Household. The number of early Ming cloisonne vessels that have survived is limited since their original quantity was not as extensive as those produced in the late 17th century with the establishment of the Imperial workshops.

It is interesting to note that the central floral bloom enamelled on the upper surface of the present cover is comparable to decorative elements in ceramics, where the stylised flower form originated. The serrated edges of the petals resemble peony designs on earlier Song dynasty Dingyao dishes; an example of a line drawing on a Dingyao dish is in the British Museum, illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon, 1984, fig. 6.4a. From ceramic decorations, it is evident that both the peony and lotus motifs were used interchangeably with a varied degree of artistic licence.

Compare to an identical box of this pattern and size dated to the first half of the 15th Century, formerly in the collection of Sir Harry Garner and now in the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonne: The Pierre Uldry Collection, 1989. pl. 12. The Uldry box is inscribed on the base with two characters, likely to be the owner's mark. Three other boxes similarly incised with vertical reign marks are illustrated by Sir Harry Garner, in Chinese and Japanese Cloisonne Enamels, Faber and Faber, 1970, pl. 23, designed with pomegranate from the Cunliffe collection; pl. 24, with persimmons; pl. 24b from Fenton House, National Trust, designed with grapes. The Xuande inscription on the Fenton House box is illustrated op. cit, 1970, pl. 95c. Another box similarly inscribed and dated to the Xuande period, designed with melons on the upper surface is found in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Metal-Bodied Enamel Ware, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commerical Press, 2002, p. 34, no. 32.

Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art

• 15th Century
• All other categories of objects
• box/case
• enamel
• China
• Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

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