A large cloisonné enameled and gilt metal censer and cover


Republic periodOf compressed globular form with composite lotus flowers and tendril scrolls picked out in subtle hues on a turquoise enamel ground, a pair of dragons applied as the handles and three cranes forming the legs as they stand on a base of lily pads; the conforming cover inlaid with colorful taotie masks amid reticulated tendrils below an openwork finial of a dragon amid clouds and the exposed metal surfaces finished with gilt.33in (84cm) high
|For the prototype from the Qianlong period, now in the British Museum, see Evelyn S. Rawski and Jessica Rawson (ed), China: The Three Emperors 1662-1795 (London, 2005), cat. no. 304.