Trompe l’oeil style blue ground and gilt vase with a Qianlong seal mark, $120,000 (£94,500) at Andrew Jones.
The highlight of the May 15 auction in Los Angeles was a trompe l’oeil style blue ground and gilt vase with a Qianlong (1735-96) seal mark that was estimated at $200-300 but hammered for $120,000 (£94,500).
Vases such as this decorated with knotted cloths, form a rare but known group that was much favoured by the Qianlong emperor himself.
The playful form was borrowed from the Japanese packaging tradition known as furoshiki and Japanese lacquers that gave the illusion of an object wrapped in cloth. In Chinese there was the added benefit of wordplay as the term baofu (wrapping cloth) also means ‘wrapping up good luck.’
The idea was replicated at the Palace Workshops in various media, including painted enamel, cloisonné, glass, wood and lacquer.
Trompe l’oeil style blue ground and gilt vase with a Qianlong seal mark, $120,000 (£94,500) at Andrew Jones.
This 12in (31cm) vase with a powder blue and gilt ground assumes an archaic beribboned form in a pink sash tied at the centre.
The price for the piece was remarkable as (although the vase had not been drilled) it had extensive restoration to the neck and rim that was visible both to the naked eye and under UV light.
