A RARE AND LARGE CLOISONNE ENAMEL 'BAJIXIANG' VASE, GU, QIANLONG PERIOD China, 1736-1795. The vase is well cast of archaic gu form, superbly decorated around the rounded mid-section with lotus sprays and bats enclosed by linked fret scrolls. The trumpet neck and spreading foot are enameled with hanging plantain leaves enclosing lotus blossoms and scrollwork, dividing further lotus sprays borne on tendrils. The flared mouth rim is embellished around the exterior with the Bajixiang, the Eight Buddhist Emblems, and four Shou medallions amidst lotus blooms on the interior.

Provenance: A highly important Austrian private collection, acquired during the first half of the 20^th century, and thence by descent within the same family. Dorotheum, Vienna, 9 December 1992, lot 229. A Viennese private collection, acquired from the above. Old inventory label from Dorotheum to base.
Condition: Superb condition with minor traces of use and manufacturing irregularities, including expected pitting, minuscule losses to enamels with associated old fills, few microscopic nicks, expected wear to gilt, light scratches to base. Please request a video, shot under strong blue light, to see the magnificent condition of this lot for yourself. Overall, such a large cloisonné vessel, dating from the 18^th century, that comes in such a pristine state of preservation must be considered extremely rare.

Weight: 2,931 g
Dimensions: Height 44 cm

Expert's note: It is rare to find a cloisonné enamel gu vase decorated with the bajixiang motif, and the current vessel is likely to have been part of a set placed in a Buddhist temple within an important palace, possibly the Forbidden City. The matching pair to the present vase, most probably coming from the same altar set, was sold at Christie's in 2016 (see auction result comparison), and it is our sincere hope that the winning bidder of the present lot will be able to reunite the pair.

Literature comparison: A number of cloisonné vessels of other forms with this Buddhist decoration have been published, including the alms bowls and plates illustrated in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum - Enamels (2) - Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pls. 260-261, 287-289. Compare also a censer, similarly decorated with the bajixiang borne on lotus blooms and archaic scrolls as on the present vase, dated to the early 18th century and illustrated by C. Brown in Chinese Cloisonné - The Clague Collection, Phoenix Art Museum, 1980, pl. 43.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Matching pair
Auction: Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2016, lot 3402
Price: HKD 1,840,000 or approx. EUR 247,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare large cloisonne enamel 'bajixiang' vase, gu, Qianlong period
Expert remark: Note that this vase and the present lot most likely once were part of the very same altar set.



乾隆罕見掐絲琺瑯八吉祥花觚
中國，1736-1795年。花觚喇叭口，細長頸，鼓腹，束腰，足外撇。松石綠色地上琺瑯彩繪，觚外壁口下與高圈足上，均繪纏枝蓮托八寶紋。頸部下方有蕉葉紋，腹部纏枝蓮紋，口沿與足牆處一周迴紋。觚内壁纏枝蝙蝠壽字紋。花觚造型優雅，結構紋飾富麗堂皇。

來源：奧地利重要私人收藏，二十世紀上半葉進入收藏，在同一家族保存至今。1992年12月9日維也納Dorotheum, lot 229；維也納私人收藏購於上述拍賣。底部可見Dorotheum 編號標籤。
品相：狀況極佳，有輕微的使用痕跡和製造瑕疵，包括預期的點蝕、與舊填充物相應的琺瑯缺損、輕微刻痕、鎏金磨損，底座上有輕微劃痕。請聯繫藝廊獲取藍光下拍攝的視頻。總體而言，如此原始的保存狀態的十八世紀景泰藍大型容器極為罕見。

重量：2,931 克
尺寸：高44 厘米

專家注釋：以八吉祥為裝飾的掐絲琺瑯觚瓶十分少見，而這件觚瓶很可能曾放置在重要宮殿（可能是紫禁城）內的一座佛堂中。 此瓶曾爲一對，另一個於 2016年 年在佳士得拍賣（見拍賣結果比較），我們真誠地希望本拍品有朝一日能重聚。

文獻比較：一些具有佛教裝飾的景泰藍器皿已經出版，包括《故宮博物院藏品大系—琺瑯彩2—清掐絲琺瑯（1644-1911）》中的碗和盤，北京，2011年，圖260-261和287-289。與此相比，還有一件18世紀初香爐也有類似的裝飾，飾有蓮花和古卷，見C. Brown，《Chinese Cloisonné - The Clague Collection》，Phoenix Art Museum，1980年，圖43。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相配的一對
拍賣：香港佳士得，2016年6月1日，lot 3402
價格：HKD 1,840,000（相當於今日EUR 247,000）
描述：乾隆罕見掐絲琺瑯八吉祥花觚
專家評論：請注意此瓶與本拍品看起來像是同一套祭壇物見的一部分。