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Lot Essay
This exceptional tripod is painted on the interior with one of the most spectacular designs of any imperial enamel-on-metal vessel. Essentially the wings of two confronted butterflies have been elaborately decorated and spread to form a circular medallion of great complexity and beauty. The wings of the insects have been reimagined by the artist so that the lower part of the wing on each butterfly has been painted in fluted shell-like form, while another part of each butterfly’s wing is decorated with flower heads and vegetal scrolls. The enamel artist has used a richly varied palette to create the design, as well as a range of brush strokes to produce intensities and textures ranging from vibrant blocks of colour to shaded stippling which creates the impression of fluted forms.
The rare use of elaborate butterflies to form decorative circular medallions on imperial enamels on metal can be seen as early as the Kangxi reign on items such as the petal-lobed plate from the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, on which the two butterflies are combined with orchids and other flowers, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 190, no. 181, although the Kangxi design is not as complex and varied as that on the Qianlong tripod. A pair of elaborate butterflies can also be seen on a small number of imperial enamel-on-metal vessels from the Yongzheng reign, such as those on a small teapot from the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, op. cit., p. 195, no. 186 and the lobed plate in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, p. 200, no. 99. In neither of these cases, however, have the butterflies’ wings been used to form a circular medallion, but instead have been combined with flowers to produce a less formal design. Similar, less formal use of paired elaborate butterflies with flowers can be seen on two small imperial Qianlong ewers – one in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, op. cit., p. 263, no. 142 and one in the collection of the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, The Enamel Volume, Shenyang, 2007, p. 60-1, no. 14. Clearly the Qianlong Emperor was particularly impressed with the exquisite butterfly design on the current metal tripod, as an almost identical design can be seen on a small Qianlong imperial porcelain dish in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Ch’ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, Taipei, 1992, pp. 232-3, no. 117, and again in Shi Jingfei, Ri yue guang hua: Qing gong hua fa lang, Taipei, 2012, pl. 78. It is interesting to note that the porcelain dish has a richly gilded rim which may have been intended to evoke the impression of gilt metal.
The current vessel has a particularly lovely and unusual four-character Qianlong mark, which is written within a peach, which is part of a beautifully-painted cluster with a further peach, roses, lingzhi fungus, and narcissi. The application of imperial marks within auspicious fruit can be seen in the Yongzheng reign on two zhadou – one in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, op. cit., p. 200, no. 1910 and one in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, op. cit., pp. 206-7, no. 104, although neither of these have the complexity of the mark on the current tripod. However, an almost identical mark with the same arrangement of auspicious fruit and flowers appears on an imperial Qianlong perfumer in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, op. cit., pp. 250-1, no. 132. Interestingly, the mark on the Taipei vessel is set against a turquoise background, rather than the white of the tripod base, and the four characters have been placed at the cardinal points outside the group of fruit and flowers, rather than being written on the large peach, as on the current vessel.
Rosemary Scott
International Academic Director, Asian Art
The rare use of elaborate butterflies to form decorative circular medallions on imperial enamels on metal can be seen as early as the Kangxi reign on items such as the petal-lobed plate from the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, on which the two butterflies are combined with orchids and other flowers, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, p. 190, no. 181, although the Kangxi design is not as complex and varied as that on the Qianlong tripod. A pair of elaborate butterflies can also be seen on a small number of imperial enamel-on-metal vessels from the Yongzheng reign, such as those on a small teapot from the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, op. cit., p. 195, no. 186 and the lobed plate in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, p. 200, no. 99. In neither of these cases, however, have the butterflies’ wings been used to form a circular medallion, but instead have been combined with flowers to produce a less formal design. Similar, less formal use of paired elaborate butterflies with flowers can be seen on two small imperial Qianlong ewers – one in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, op. cit., p. 263, no. 142 and one in the collection of the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, The Enamel Volume, Shenyang, 2007, p. 60-1, no. 14. Clearly the Qianlong Emperor was particularly impressed with the exquisite butterfly design on the current metal tripod, as an almost identical design can be seen on a small Qianlong imperial porcelain dish in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Ch’ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, Taipei, 1992, pp. 232-3, no. 117, and again in Shi Jingfei, Ri yue guang hua: Qing gong hua fa lang, Taipei, 2012, pl. 78. It is interesting to note that the porcelain dish has a richly gilded rim which may have been intended to evoke the impression of gilt metal.
The current vessel has a particularly lovely and unusual four-character Qianlong mark, which is written within a peach, which is part of a beautifully-painted cluster with a further peach, roses, lingzhi fungus, and narcissi. The application of imperial marks within auspicious fruit can be seen in the Yongzheng reign on two zhadou – one in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 43 - Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, op. cit., p. 200, no. 1910 and one in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, op. cit., pp. 206-7, no. 104, although neither of these have the complexity of the mark on the current tripod. However, an almost identical mark with the same arrangement of auspicious fruit and flowers appears on an imperial Qianlong perfumer in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch’ing Dynasties, op. cit., pp. 250-1, no. 132. Interestingly, the mark on the Taipei vessel is set against a turquoise background, rather than the white of the tripod base, and the four characters have been placed at the cardinal points outside the group of fruit and flowers, rather than being written on the large peach, as on the current vessel.
Rosemary Scott
International Academic Director, Asian Art