A LARGE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL FISH BASIN, Qianlong (173 - 1795), of deep circular form with slightly tapering sides, the exterior decorated with a continuous mountainous landscape filled with running deer, cranes and fruiting peach trees, under a gilt bronze Greek key rim, the interior side walls with carp, trout and other fish swimming amongst reeds and aquatic plants, similarly decorated to the floor with frigs and crustaceans, the underside with encircled reign mark in Kaishu (regular) script, 63cm diameter Imperial LuxuriesLuxury has ever been the condition of those who rule, whether their taste be driven by their personal inclination or by the political imperative to display magnificence. The Qianlong Emperor (reigning from 1736 to 1795) knew luxury from both of these perspectives. Towards the latter part of his reign, he immersed himself increasingly in things that delighted the senses; some would argue that he did so to the detriment of governing vigilantly, leaving a door open for unscrupulous mismanagers to enter and operate behind his back. Whatever the truth of that, at court the imperial field of vision was abundantly crowded with sights of opulence and refinement. Indeed, imperial workshops had been set up in Beijing to produce exquisite art objects, toys ‘to keep a drowsy emperor awake’, as the poet W. B. Yeats might have put it.Amongst the assorted opulent playthings that formerly thronged the palace, it is easy to imagine this large fish basin taking its place. Basins of similar size, with a similar decoration of deer on the exterior and fish on the interior, are known, and have been attributed to the imperial workshops, probably in the latter part of the reign. They represent a high point of eighteenth-century Chinese cloisonné work. Decoration on Chinese art seldom exists for its own sake; images come freighted with meaning, and the meanings released by the imagery on this basin are no exception, for they heap one auspicious wish upon another. On the interior, vivid fish and other water creatures navigate through aquatic plants. In Chinese, the word for a fish (yu) sounds somewhat like the word for abundance. Hence a number of fishes represent abundance multiplied, while goldfish (jinyu) imply abundant gold. Two of the fish on the basin appear to be carp (li), a word which in turn sounds a little like the word for profit; by logical extension, two carp represent profit doubled. The basin’s exterior functions similarly, for it is replete with motifs of longevity which have been combined into a landscape: we find deer, cranes and pine trees, all expressive of long life. The basin’s ensemble, a tour de force of cloisonné work, would have collaborated with so many other imperial artefacts in conspiring to enfold the ageing emperor in a vision of harmony, prosperity, and long life.A number of comparable basins have been sold including, for example, that from the Mandel Collection offered by Christie’s, Hong Kong, 30 May 2012, lot 3910, and another by Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 30 May 2018, lot 3039; unlike those basins, the present one additionally bears the reign mark of the emperor done in cloisonné.Prof. Alan. J Fletcher, MRIA