A RARE PAIR OF CHINESE IMPERIAL CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER ‘DRAGON’ BOWLS AND STANDS

A RARE PAIR OF CHINESE IMPERIAL CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER ‘DRAGON’ BOWLS AND STANDS
QIANLONG 1736-95

Each bowl exquisitely carved in very high relief with six five-clawed dragons striding across a field of clouds, each dragon's body naturalistically rendered and with finely incised scales and facial features, the red clouds swelling in ruyi-form spirals toward the surface, all against a black diaper ground meticulously carved in low relief, with red lacquer borders above and below, the short straight feet encircled by keyfret bands, the bases lacquered black, the interiors set with gilt-metal liners. The bowl stands also carved to the tops of the bracket lobed trays and to the rounded bodies with five-clawed dragons amidst ruyi-shaped clouds, the bowls 20.5cm, the stands 18cm across. (4)

Provenance: an English private collection, Surrey, UK, purchased from Ben Janssens Oriental Art, 23rd March 1998; sold on behalf of Parkinson's UK.

Cf. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, p.21, no.12. for a similar bowl and stand. See also Christie’s Hong Kong, 6th April 2015, lot 20, from the Yaogushanfang Collection for another closely related bowl and stand.

The foliate shape of the cup stand is based on Ming prototypes from the Yongle period (1403-24) which are usually carved with a decoration of lotus flowers or phoenixes. Deliberate references to the past are a typical feature of the Qianlong period, the Qianlong Emperor was known for his fondness for the antique.

清乾隆 御製剔紅雲龍紋盌連盞托 一對
來源：英國薩里郡私人收藏，1998年3月23日購於Ben Janssens Oriental Art。成交金額將全數捐贈英國帕金森基金會。