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Lot Essay
The inscription on the upper panel is a poem by the Qianlong emperor, ending with chen Yu Minzhong jing shu, 'Respectfully written by your servant, Yu Minzhong', followed by two seals chen Mingzhong and jing shu in red enamel.
The inscription may be translated as:
The Imperial music resonates with the time of the year;
the universe is harmonised with Spring.
Like other flowers, the royal plum blossoms' scent;
light smoke lingers around the pond willows.
Farmers being busy at the newly irrigated fields;
famous gardens are frequented by visitors.
With such a wonderful Spring at the capital;
I share with my people the joy of being well.
All in the level tone.
Imperial poems on the Four Seasons imitating the four tones.
This poem on Spring is the first poem in a series on the Four Seasons, recorded in Yuzhi Shiji, Compilation of Imperial Poems, vol. 2, juan 55, dated 1755.
Although the poem was composed by the Emperor, the calligraphy is based on an original by Yu Minzhong (1714-1779). Yu was an influential official at court who gained the title of Zhuang Yuan (ranking first in the Imperial civil service examination) in 1737, and responsible for the compilation of Siku Quanshu.
Two similar panels depicting landscape scenes and also with calligraphy by Yu Minzhong are in the collection of the Palace Museum, published in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum - Enamels (3) - Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pls. 63-64. Another similar example with Yu's calligraphy is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 45. These examples also have a gilt-copper upper panel elaborately engraved with lotus and scrolls, however, depicting a farmer's scene instead of a scholarly theme as the current panel.
See a set of four panels each depicting a pavilion within a fenced garden, from the collection of Rt. Hon. Viscount Rothermere, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 April 1996, lot 23. Another example, depicting the scholars in a garden landscape, was sold at Christie's New York, 20 October 2004, lot 698.
The inscription may be translated as:
The Imperial music resonates with the time of the year;
the universe is harmonised with Spring.
Like other flowers, the royal plum blossoms' scent;
light smoke lingers around the pond willows.
Farmers being busy at the newly irrigated fields;
famous gardens are frequented by visitors.
With such a wonderful Spring at the capital;
I share with my people the joy of being well.
All in the level tone.
Imperial poems on the Four Seasons imitating the four tones.
This poem on Spring is the first poem in a series on the Four Seasons, recorded in Yuzhi Shiji, Compilation of Imperial Poems, vol. 2, juan 55, dated 1755.
Although the poem was composed by the Emperor, the calligraphy is based on an original by Yu Minzhong (1714-1779). Yu was an influential official at court who gained the title of Zhuang Yuan (ranking first in the Imperial civil service examination) in 1737, and responsible for the compilation of Siku Quanshu.
Two similar panels depicting landscape scenes and also with calligraphy by Yu Minzhong are in the collection of the Palace Museum, published in Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum - Enamels (3) - Cloisonne in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pls. 63-64. Another similar example with Yu's calligraphy is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 45. These examples also have a gilt-copper upper panel elaborately engraved with lotus and scrolls, however, depicting a farmer's scene instead of a scholarly theme as the current panel.
See a set of four panels each depicting a pavilion within a fenced garden, from the collection of Rt. Hon. Viscount Rothermere, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 April 1996, lot 23. Another example, depicting the scholars in a garden landscape, was sold at Christie's New York, 20 October 2004, lot 698.