Medium: Cloisonné enamel on copper alloy
Geograhical Locations:
Dates:late 19th century
Dimensions: 36 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (92.7 x 29.2 cm)
Collections:
Exhibitions:
Accession Number: 09.541a-d
Image: 09.541a-d_PS2.jpg,
Catalogue Description: Large flower basket, hanging from a tall stand. The basket, which is lobed in six sections, has a rather high spreading foot, a broad ovoid body and a contracted neck of medium height with a very broad flat mouth rim edged with a low railing. From either side of the opening rises a tall arched hinged handle. The stand consists of a hexagonal pedestal with a low straight rim at the bottom, sides that curve inwards from the top and bottom to a narrow band around the center and a flat top edged with a low railing. From a hole in the center of this pedestal rises a very tall thick post, with a pointed bulb on top, and around which curl two dragons among clouds, in high relief. One dragon, stretching at right angles from the top of the post, serves as an arm from which to suspend the basket. Copper, gilded on the rims, the handles of the basket, the dragons, and the clouds on the post, and on the bottom of the pedestal. Elsewhere, the piece is decorated with cloisonné enamel. On the foot of the lamp are lotus scrolls, on the body and neck are landscapes, on the underside of the rim are flower heads, on the upper side are flower sprays, and on the railing are frets and scroll designs, in dark blue, red, yellow, pink, white, green, and black on a dark turquoise ground. The ground of the landscape is patterned with a regular cloud design made by the cloisons alone, the ground of the underside of the rim is netted in the same way, and the upper side is patterned with a swastika and bar pattern also in the same technique. The gilded handle is engraved with a design of dragons among clouds. The sides of the pedestal are patterned with lotus scrolls and false gadroons, the top has butterflies and flowers, and the inner side of the balustrade has a cash pattern, in the same colors as appear on the basket. The ground of the post is filled with turquoise blue champleve enamel. Engraved on the base of the pedestal, which is loose, is a large four character Qianlong mark. The gilding is dulled in a few places and the surface of the enamel is very slightly pitted. A gilded bronze fringe which once hung from the rim of the basket is now missing.