A CLOISONNÉ PANEL, INSCRIBED WITH A POEM BY THE... Lot n° 354

A CLOISONNÉ PANEL, INSCRIBED WITH A POEM BY THE QIANLONG EMPEROR China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912). The panel is finely enameled with a pair of pheasants standing on blue rocks surrounded by narcissus in the foreground and camellias, wintersweet prunus, nandina, and podocarpus rising from behind, all below a gilt poem by the Qianlong Emperor alluding to the scene. Inscriptions: Top right, a poem by the Qianlong Emperor, followed by the cyclical Guisi date (corresponding to 1773), the two characters ‘Yu ti’ (Imperial Poem), an inscription signed by Wang Jihua (Respectfully inscribed by your servant Wang Jihua), and two seals ‘chen Hua’ and ‘jing shu’. Provenance: Jules Speelman, Kensington, London, United Kingdom. Previously acquired in the French auction market. Jules Speelman is a world-leading dealer and collector of East Asian art with 60 years of experience. In 1964 he joined his late father, Alfred, in the family business which already stretched back three generations to 19 th century Holland and expanded into England around the turn of the century. Originally, A&J Speelman dealt with antiques, from European ceramics, silver, tapestries, and furniture to Chinese porcelain, and works of art. With his father, Jules gradually shifted the focus towards Asia and under Jules Speelman's skilled direction, A & J Speelman is now considered amongst the foremost dealers in Asian antiques, with a particular emphasis on figurative sculpture and works of art from the past 2000 years. Condition: Firing flaws, expected pitting overall, areas of minor warping, the lacquered back cover with extensive crackling. Areas of bruising with associated extensive hairline cracks, all well visible on additional images on www.zacke.at. Overall fine condition commensurate with age and presenting well. Weight: 12 kg Dimensions: Image size 70.8 x 47.7 cm, Size incl. frame 77.3 x 54.3 cm The hardwood frame and gilt-bronze fitting in the form of archaistic confronting phoenixes dating to the 20 th century. The poem on the present panel, composed by the Qianlong Emperor, is recorded in Yuzhi Shiji, Compilation of Imperial Poems, volume 4, dated 1773. The original title of the poem as recorded in Yuzhi Shiji can be read as ‘On Yang Dazhang's bird and flower (painting), appropriating Wen Tingyun's style’, suggesting the scene depicted on the panel is based on a painting by Yang Dazhang, while the poem above is after the style of Wen Tingyun. Yang Dazhang (active during the 18th century) was an esteemed court painter during the Qianlong reign, specializing in landscape, bird and flower genres. Wen Tingyun (812-870) was a celebrated poet from the late Tang dynasty, highly regarded by the Qianlong Emperor. The inscription following the poem includes the name Wang Jihua (1717-1776), a native of Qiantang (present day Hangzhou in Zhejiang province), who served as a high official at the court of the Qianlong Emperor. Wang managed the Wuying Hall in the Forbidden City, a storehouse for various rare books and archives. In 1770, the Qianlong Emperor commissioned him to transcribe all seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra. Upon his death at the age of 60, Wang was given the posthumous title Wenzhuang. See Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian, Shanghai, 1981, page 124. Literature comparison: An inlaid lacquer screen bearing a Yu zhi mark and an inscription including the name Wang Jihua and the same two seals was sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 5 November 1996, lot 1002. Expert’s note: The present cloisonné panel is almost identical to one sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in 2014 (see Auction result comparison), dated to the Qianlong period. The single difference between the two lots lies in an additional shade of blue used to accentuate the central rock (in the Christie’s panel), which appears to have been omitted in the present lot, most likely because of simplified manufacturing procedures. The Qianlong Emperor would often commission second (and third, fourth, etc.) editions of his favorite pieces, across all types of Chinese works of art, as gifts for his favorites, officials, and other subjects. The lesser the differences are between earlier and later editions, the shorter the time period usually was between them. Thus, it is this author’s personal opinion that the present lot may well have been commissioned within the Qianlong Emperor’s reign. Auction result comparison: Compare a near-identical inscribed cloisonné panel, with the same depiction, poem, and dating as the present lot, at Christie’s Hong Kong, in Through Connoisseurs’ Eyes – Works of Art for the Emperor, on 28 May 2014, lot 3015, sold for HKD 2,440,000.