A PAIR OF LARGE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL GU-FORM VASES

This pair of vases illustrates the highest quality of craftmanship found on archaistic cloisonné vessels made during the Qianlong period. The inset shou medallions are a rare feature, however related insets can be found on a Qianlong-period cloisonné enamel ding-form vessel and cover in the Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris, with inset medallions decorated with spirals instead of shou characters, illustrated by B. Quette, ed. in Cloisonné. Chinese Enamels from the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, New York, 2011, p. 262, no. 76. The well-cast flanges are also unusual and seem to be more commonly found on gu-form vases of square section, where they more easily adapt to the corners of the shape; see a pair of fanggu-form vases of comparable size to the present vases sold at Christie’s New York, 19 March 2008, lot 356.