A rare paste-inset basse-taille 'floral' jardinière, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 透明琺瑯嵌料花卉紋花盆

During the 18th century, the Canton workshops applied transparent enamels over a patterned metal body to develop the lustrous effect seen on the present lot. For pieces of the same technique, see a censer, vase and box decorated in similar floral scrolls, attributed to the Qianlong period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei and illustrated in Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, Taipei, 1999, pl. 163. Compare also a vase, box and washer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, previously in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Metal-bodied Enamel Ware, Hong Kong, 2002, pls 238-240; and a basin and altar set included in the exhibition Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1987, cat. nos 56-57.