Cloisonné Enamel Beaker with Filigree Ridges and Intertwining Lotus Design - View 2

This beaker is fashioned from copper and lavishly ornamented with four gilded ridges in a dragon-among-clouds design (specifically with a hornless dragon called a chi, not the more widely known long). The ritual vessel has a wide mouth that overshadows the cylindrical body and round base. Below the mouth, the neck is covered in sapphire blue enamel with plantain leaves and intertwining lotuses. The body is covered in light blue enamel with an interlocking pattern of several flowers in an orderly, lined layout. The bottom is free of enamel and inscribed with a single line of four intagliated characters in the regular script. The inscription is translated as "Manufactured in the Xuande reign" (Xuande nian zhi). The erect structure, richly colored enamel, and lavish gilding are commonly seen features in cloisonné enamel vessels of the Xuande reign.

bottom of the item