AN EXTREMELY RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL QUADRILOBED BOX AND COVER, QIANLONG FIVE-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIODChina, 1736-1795. Supported on a flaring foot, the cover decorated with a central blossom encircled by four lotus flowers issuing meandering vines, the foot with further lotus and vines above a band of floral sprays, all above a turquoise ground, the interior, base, and rims in gilt. The recessed base incised with a five-character mark Qianlong nianzhi xuan and of the period.Provenance: From a noted private collection in Geneva, Switzerland, assembled since the 1960s, and thence by descent. An important part of this collection was on permanent loan and exhibited over several decades at the Asia-Africa Museum in Geneva. The interior of the cover with three old labels, ‘18’, ‘Signé Kun-Lung Impérial’, and ‘Geneve Art Ancien Chine & Extro-Orient. 2762 TFA’, and a lacquered inventory number ‘AMA-2762/2’. The interior of the bowl with three old labels, ‘Signé Kung Lung Impérial’, ‘K. Ming 1736-95’, and ‘Asia-Africa Museum Geneve’, and lacquered with an inventory number ‘AMA-2762/2’. The base with an old label, ‘Signé Kien Lung Impérial’. Two old paper labels with collection notes, one numbered ‘No 276/TFA’ and the other ‘No 2757/TFA’. According to the collector’s personal notes, the present lot was acquired on 13 October 1972. A copy of the corresponding entry in the collector’s notebook accompanies this lot. Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, few small nicks and light scratches, and manufacturing flaws, such as scattered pitting.Weight: 140.0 g Dimensions: Length 6.6 cmThe present lot belongs to a group 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 a correct order, see H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, New York, 1989, pp. 74-79.The form of this four-lobed box supported by a broad foot rim directly references the crabapple (haitang), which could be combined with other emblems to create auspicious rebuses. Its second character, ‘tang’, is homophonous with the character for ‘hall’ and, by extension, ‘the family home’. For examples of Imperial objects of the Qing court of related haitang shape, see a bamboo tray at Bonhams Hong Kong, 24 November 2012, lot 323 (see fig. 1), and a pair of gilt bronze and cloisonne jardinieres at Bonhams London, 8 November 2012, lot 250 (see fig. 2).Auction result comparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 24 September 2021, lot 930Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 26,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A small cloisonné enamel circular box and cover, Qianlong four-character incised mark in a line and of the period, with an additional character yingExpert remark: Compare the related lotus decoration, five-character Qianlong mark, and size (6.4 cm). Note the less rare circular form.Auction result comparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 4 October 2011, lot 2091Price: HKD 250,000 or approx. EUR 41,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A small cloisonne seal-paste box and cover, incised mark and period of QianlongExpert remark: Compare the related lotus decoration, five-character Qianlong mark, and size (7 cm). Note the less rare circular form.乾隆五字款及年代罕見銅胎掐絲琺瑯四瓣花口蓋盒中國，1736-1795年。四瓣花口，蓋子裝飾著纏枝蓮紋，中央一朵花。足部有更多的纏枝蓮紋。綠松石色地，盒內、底部和邊緣鎏金。底足内刻“乾隆年製 宣”五字款。 來源：瑞士日内瓦知名私人收藏，建立於上世紀六十年代，保存至今。收藏中重要的一部分被永久借出，已在日內瓦的亞非博物館展出了幾十年。盒蓋内有三個標籤，‘18’，‘Signé Kun-Lung Impérial’與 ‘Geneve Art Ancien Chine & Extro-Orient. 2762 TFA’，收藏編號 ‘AMA-2762/2’。盒内有三個標籤 ‘Signé Kung Lung Impérial’，‘K. Ming 1736-95’與 ‘Asia-Africa Museum Geneve’，‘AMA-2762/2’。底部標籤 ‘Signé Kien Lung Impérial’。兩個收藏紙標籤，一個寫著 ‘編號276/TFA’ ，另一個寫著 ‘編號2757/TFA’。根據收藏家的個人筆記，本拍品購於 1972 年 10 月 13 日。隨附收藏家筆記本中相應條目的複印本。品相：狀況良好，有輕微磨損、少量刻痕和輕微劃痕，以及製造缺陷，如分散的點蝕。 重量：140.0 克 尺寸：長6.6 厘米 本拍品為一組小景泰藍花瓶、香爐及燒香器具中的一件，為乾隆宮廷御製，年號下方加字。一些學者認為，乾隆標記下的第五個字符可能是一種以正確順序對大量物品進行編號的方法，參見 H. Brinker 和 A. Lutz，《Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection》，紐約，1989 年 ，頁74-79。四瓣盒子的形式直接參考了海棠，是吉祥的圖案。清宮御用海棠紋樣，見香港邦瀚斯竹盤，2012年11 月 24 日，拍品編號 323（見圖 1），倫敦邦瀚斯一對鎏金景泰藍花瓶，2012年11 月8日，拍品 250（見圖 2）。 拍賣結果比較： 形制：非常相近 拍賣：紐約佳士得，2021年9月24日，lot 930 價格：USD 25,000（相當於今日EUR 26,000） 描述：清乾隆掐絲琺瑯蓮紋小圓蓋盒，《乾隆年製》及《映》千字文楷書刻款 專家評論：比較相近的蓮花裝飾、乾隆五字款和尺寸(6.4 厘米)。請注意此掐絲琺瑯為較少見的圓形。 拍賣結果比較： 形制：非常相近 拍賣：香港蘇富比，2011年10月4日，lot 2091 價格：HKD 250,000（相當於今日EUR 41,500） 描述：乾隆款及年代銅胎掐絲琺瑯印泥蓋盒 專家評論：比較相近的蓮花裝飾、乾隆五字款和尺寸(7 厘米)。請注意此掐絲琺瑯為較少見的圓形。#byimperialcommand#worksofart