AN IMPERIAL GILT-LACQUERED AND JADE-INLAID ARCHAISTIC VESSEL AND COVER, FU, QIANLONG PERIODExpert’s note: The usage of jades as inlays for the present vessel clearly confirms the Imperial provenance, see the literatureparison below for further details.China, 1736-1795. The vessel supported on a spreading foot, the body flaring towards the rim and flanked by two loop handles. The tapered cover surmounted by a large wave-like rim and flanked by two smaller loop handles. The exterior finely carved with archaistic masks between key-fret borders,inlaid with four jades of pale celadon color, and finely gilt, the interior lacquered in cinnabar.Provenance: From an Austrian private collection.Condition: Fine condition,mensurate with age and the fragile nature of the lacquer. Old wear, light surface scratches, expected age cracks, minor losses and chips, small old repairs. Naturally grown patina overall.Weight: 1,166 gDimensions: Height 23.4 cmThe present vessel is modeled after the archaic bronze fu, which was a ritual vessel used to contain food during the Zhou dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor was known to be a zealous collector of archaic bronze vessels andmissioned the publication of the Xiqing gujian (Xiqing mirror of antiquities), an illustrated catalog of his bronze collection. This publication,piled in 1749, provided models for many of the works of art produced in various materials for the Imperial Court during this period. Vessels of this type were displayed in pairs on the right side of offering tables at the Temple to Imperial Ancestors. They contained cereal offerings of millet, rice or sorghum.Literatureparison:Compare a closely related gilt-lacquered fu vessel and cover, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the collection of the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, exhibited in For Blessings and Guidance: the Qianlong Emperor's Design for State Sacrificial Vessels, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Art Museum, Hong Kong, 26 January to 5 May 2019. Similarly decorated gilt-lacquer ritual food vessels of different shapes are illustrated in the exhibition catalog, The Life of Emperor Qianlong, Macau Museum of Art, 2002, p. 61-63. It is noted that ritual vessels of this type were made in bronze, ceramic and gilt-lacquered wood throughout the Qing dynasty, and it is likely that they were re-used by successive emperors, which would account for the appearance of different reign marks on the same vessel. The author also notes that the gilt-lacquered wood examples were produced both with and without jade inlayand that the inlaid examples were reserved for Imperial use.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2013, lot 1309Price: USD 17,500 or approx.EUR 21,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A rare imperial gilt-lacquered wood archaistic vessel