Lot 363 清乾隆　掐絲琺瑯蓮紋象耳三足薰爐 | A LARGE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL TRIPOD 'ELEPHANT' INCENSE BURNER AND COVER

清乾隆　掐絲琺瑯蓮紋象耳三足薰爐 | A LARGE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL TRIPOD 'ELEPHANT' INCENSE BURNER AND COVER

Qianlong

HKD 400,000

HKD 400000 - 600000

未知

未知

Qianlong
Heavily cast with deep rounded sides supported on three elephant-head feet, each with a pair of protruding tusks and bejewelled harness, flanked at the shoulders with another pair of elephant-head handles, their upturned trunks ending in curled tips, the bell-shaped decorated with large lotus blooms separated by four shoucharacters, below a band of hanging plantain leaves enclosing pairs of chilong, the pierced cover with three ruyi-shaped panels centred with a shoucharacter surrounded by further leafy scrolls, surmounted by a recumbent elephant richly adorned across the body with bejewelled harness and beaded garlands, fitted box.
58.5cm (23in) high (3).
Footnotes
清乾隆　掐絲琺瑯蓮紋象耳三足薰爐
Provenance:
Christie's Hong Kong, 2 December 2015, lot 3249
來源：
香港佳士得，2015年12月2日，拍品編號3249
Imperial works of art made for the Court during the Qianlong period often combine archaic-inspired forms and designs, reflecting the emperor's appreciation of the past, with opulence and grandeur that represent the Qing Court's taste. The exceptional result was due to the technical virtuosity achieved at the cloisonné enamel ateliers during the Qianlong reign; nowhere better demonstrated than in the superb jewelled elephant feet and the tour de force of the recumbent elephant atop the vessel, carrying a vase laden with a cornucopia of auspicious representations.
The elephant in China is one of the Seven Buddhist Sacred Treasures and symbolises peace. The combination of an elephant and a vase , is a reference to 'peaceful times', , making pairs of elephants carrying vases an important part of the Imperial throne regalia, as can be seen for example in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the Hall of Mental Cultivation, ; see Wan-go Weng and Yang Boda, , London, 1982, pp.44-45 and 64-65. See also the powerful symbolism demonstrated in a detail from the Imperial Court painting , 1761, showing a tribute of an elephant carrying a vase, illustrated by C. Ho and B. Bronson, , London, 2004, pl.82. It is most likely that the present incense burner would have formed part of a pair, which would have been placed in one of the Qing Palace halls; see for example the set of four large incense burners from the Qing Court Collection with tripod elephant-head feet, at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, , illustrated in , Beijing, 2008, pl.363.
Compare with a similar cloisonné enamel tripod incense burner, Qianlong, illustrated in , 2007, pp.100-101, no.IV-9; and a smaller cloisonné enamel tripod incense burner, Qianlong, from the collection of Sir Robert Grenville Harvey (1856-1931) 2nd Baronet, and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935), which was sold at Bonhams London, 3 November 2022, lot 122.
乾隆時期宮廷精心締造之御製工藝品，往往巧妙融匯摹古形制與紋飾，既映照出乾隆皇帝對高古美學之獨到青睞，亦彰顯出清代鼎盛時期宮廷氣象之雍容華貴與富麗堂皇。此等卓絕藝術成就，當歸功於乾隆朝掐絲琺瑯作坊所達至之臻至化境之技藝；其中最為精彩者，莫過於此器所裝飾之精美象足，以及頂部臥象馱瓶之巧思，極盡工巧。
大象於中國傳統文化中為「七寶」之一，象徵天下太平。大象（「象」）與寶瓶（「瓶」）之組合，取「太平有象」之吉慶祥瑞寓意，故「寶象馱瓶」一類器物成為清宮大殿寶座旁不可或缺之重要禮制陳設，此可參考太和殿與養心殿內之設景；參見翁萬戈與楊伯達合著，《故宮博物院藏品選》，倫敦，1990年，頁44-45及64-65。另可參考乾隆二十六年（1761年）宮廷畫師所繪《萬國來朝圖》中之強烈象徵意義，畫中詳細描繪了藩屬國進貢「寶象馱瓶」之盛景，著錄於 C.Ho 及 B.Bronson 合著，《Splendors of China's Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of the Emperor Qianlong》，倫敦，2004年，圖版82。本品可能原為成對陳設於清宮某一殿堂之內；參見清宮舊藏一組四件三足象首耳大香爐，現原狀陳設於乾清宮內，著錄於《故宮經典：明清宮廷家具》，北京，2008年，編號363。
參考瀋陽故宮博物院珍藏一件相似之乾隆期掐絲琺瑯三足香爐，著錄於《瀋陽故宮博物院院藏文物精粹：琺瑯卷》，瀋陽，2007年，頁100-101，圖版IV-9；以及英格蘭白金漢郡蘭利莊園 Robert Grenville Harvey 二代從男爵（1856-1931）與 Emily Blanche Harvey 爵士夫人（1872-1935）伉儷舊藏一件尺寸稍小之例，售於倫敦邦瀚斯，2022年11月3日，拍品編號1222。