Lot 24 明萬曆　掐絲琺瑯穿芝螭紋龍耳香爐 | A VERY RARE IMPERIAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL 'CHILONG AND LINGZHI' INCENSE BURNER AND A COVER, GUI

明萬曆　掐絲琺瑯穿芝螭紋龍耳香爐 | A VERY RARE IMPERIAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL 'CHILONG AND LINGZHI' INCENSE BURNER AND A COVER, GUI

The incense burner, Wanli six-character enamel mark and of the period, the cover, 18th century

HKD 1,000,000

HKD 1000000 - 1500000

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The incense burner, Wanli six-character enamel mark and of the period, the cover, 18th century
The body of compressed globular form, decorated with four chilong amidst meandering lingzhi scrolls above a slightly domed foot with lotus lappets, rising to a short neck with a key-fret band on the pronounced mouth rim, the shoulders flanked by a pair of 'C'-shaped dragon handles, the base with a six-character mark; the later cover with gilt-bronze pierced meandering lotus scrolls above the rim and on the finial, decorated on the sides with circular cartouches enclosing the Buddhist wheel-of-fire interspersed with scrolls, box.
24.5cm (9 5/8in) wide. (3).
Footnotes
明萬曆　掐絲琺瑯穿芝螭紋龍耳香爐
掐絲填紅「大明萬曆年造」款　連清十八世紀爐蓋
Provenance:
Roger Keverne Ltd., London
Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 December 2015, lot 55
倫敦古董商 Roger Keverne Ltd.
香港邦瀚斯，2015年12月3日，拍品編號55
The present incense burner belongs to a select group of Imperial wares, each bearing a Wanli reign mark. These marks are very consistent and are executed in cloisonné enamel, with the six characters arranged in two parallel columns, infilled with red enamel, enclosed within a rectangular frame and surrounded by a band of cloud or -head motifs. There are several cloisonné enamel incense burners with this type of Wanli reign mark and of the period in the Qing Court Collection, including a compressed globular incense burner with upright handles and elephant-head feet, and another rectangular incense burner and cover, with the Eight Buddhist Emblems on a white ground, illustrated in , vol.1, Beijing, 2011, pls.100-101.
The key-fret border on the present lot is also noteworthy. Compare another cloisonné enamel rectangular incense burner with a multi-coloured key-fret border beneath the mouth rim, Wanli period, illustrated in ., no.99. The same Palace Museum example is fitted with unusual cloisonné enamel mythical beast heads issuing four gilt-bronze legs, similar in treatment to the dragon handles of the present incense burner.
Also particularly striking are the four decorating the body, each distinguished by a single horn and depicted in varied poses amongst the meandering scrolls. The use of archaistic as the principal figural decoration on a Wanli period Imperial cloisonné enamel incense burner is particularly rare. The archaistic character of these creatures, together with the key-fret border and zoomorphic handles, contributes to the distinctive decorative vocabulary of the vessel. See a cloisonné enamel cup stand decorated with , 16th/17th century, which was illustrated by Sir Harry Garner, , London, 1977, pl.62B.
A related cloisonné enamel tripod incense burner, , Wanli mark and of the period, was sold at Bonhams London, 10 July 2006, lot 45. See also another incense burner in this collection, lot 20, similarly with a red-enamel-infilled six-character reign mark on the base.
本品具有明顯的明萬曆時代特徵。萬曆年間，掐絲琺瑯的工藝漸漸演變為以淺淡釉色為地為主，並擅長運用紅、藍、白、黃、綠等顏色為裝飾紋飾的色釉，形成鮮明的對比。從紋飾上也開始從單線勾勒的纏枝花卉主題漸漸發展成以龍鳳、海馬、瑞獸等吉祥長壽的圖案為主，題材更為廣泛。
此爐底部署萬曆六字款，外圍有長方框，再環以如意雲紋，並不常見。清宮有數件御製器物，皆署同樣萬曆年款。此類款識格式高度一致，六字作兩行排列，掐絲填紅琺瑯，外圍有長方框，框外環以雲紋或如意雲頭紋。參考清宮舊藏數件萬曆款掐絲琺瑯香爐，包括一件象首足香爐及一件長方蓋爐，白地飾八吉祥，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：琺瑯器編》，卷1，北京，2011年，圖版100至101。
本品所飾回紋邊飾，工藝可比較清宮舊藏一件萬曆時期掐絲琺瑯長方爐，口沿下飾類似彩色回紋，見上書，編號99；此例更飾有罕見之掐絲琺瑯瑞獸首，下承四銅鎏金足，其處理手法與本品之雙龍耳相近。器身所飾四條螭龍，皆獨角，姿態各異，穿行於纏枝靈芝之間。在現存萬曆朝御製掐絲琺瑯香爐中，以仿古螭龍為主要紋飾者，尤為罕見。螭龍、回紋邊飾與獸形雙耳相映，令此器益添古雅之韻。參考一件十六/十七世紀掐絲琺瑯螭龍紋盞托，著錄於 Harry Garner 爵士，《Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels》，倫敦，1977年，圖版62B。
另見倫敦邦瀚斯售出一例，2006年7月10日，拍品編號45。本場拍賣且見另一萬曆填紅款三足爐例，拍品編號20，同樣珍罕。