A CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL ‘LOTUS’ BOTTLE VASE, QIANLONG FIVE-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIODChina, 1736-1795. The globular body supported on a spreading foot, rising to a tall neck tapering towards the gilt rim, brightly decorated with stylized lotus blooms borne on meandering leafy tendrils below a ruyi-head band, the foot encircled with C-scrolls and circles, all reserved on a turquoise ground. The base incised with a five-character markQianlong nianzhi tong and of the period.Provenance: From a private collection in South Africa, gifted to the previous owner by a former diplomat in Yugoslavia on 26 June 1982. French trade, acquired from the above.Condition: Very good condition with old wear as expected and some manufacturing irregularities, including minimal pitting, as well as minor nicks to enamels.Weight: 278.8 gDimensions: Height 12.7 cmBased on its size and shape, this vase was made to hold incense instruments. These types of small cloisonné vases, censers, and instruments (luping sanshi) which were made for the burning of incense had an additional character below the reign mark and were made for the Qianlong court. Some scholars have suggested that the fifth character under the Qianlong mark could have been a way to number the large group of objects in the correct order, see H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pp. 74-79.Literatureparison:Compare a similar cloisonné enamel vase in the Pierre Uldry collection, published in Brinker and Lutz in Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, no. 285, p 283.pare a related cloisonné enamel vase, Qianlong mark and period, in the Palace Museum, illustrated by Zheng Xinmiao, ed.,pendium of Collection in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2 - Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pl. 154. For a Kangxi-marked example of similar size and decoration from the Qing Court Collection, see Metal-bodied Enamel Ware. Theplete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2001, pl. 81.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2057Price: HKD 300,000 or approx.EUR 44,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A small cloisonné enamel bottle vase, Qianlong incised four-character mark and of the periodExpert remark:pare the closely related form, motif, and four-character mark with an additional character. Note the size (12.3 cm).乾隆五字款及年代銅胎掐絲琺瑯蓮紋長頸瓶中國，1736-1795年。鎏金口，長頸，斜肩，圓腹，圈足。藍地，銅胎掐絲琺瑯，口沿下緣飾一圈如意雲紋，頸及腹飾番蓮紋，圈足飾幾何紋。底有陰刻“乾隆年製”橫向單行楷款，其下有一個“同”字。