AN IMPERIAL GILT-SPLASHED BRONZE ‘CHILONG AND PHOENIX’ SCROLL WEIGHT

QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG FOUR-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1735-1796)

LENGTH: 12CM

WEIGHT: 165CM

The scroll weight is heavily cast depicting a stylised phoenix with five attendant chilongs swirling and clambering around its body. A small four-character ‘Qianlong nianzhi’ 乾隆年製 mark is incised laterally along the back of its spine. The bronze is patinated to a golden-brown tone and accented with splashes of gilt decoration.

This exquisite scroll weight belongs to a group of small gilt-splashed vessels bearing four-character Qianlong marks destined for the scholar’s table. The relatively compact sizes of these vessels suggests that they may originally have been part of the duobaoge 多寶格 and carried around as portable stationary items in curio boxes.

The representation of a phoenix overseeing attendant chilongs is a known motif in the early Qing period, and is thought to embody good wishes for marital harmony and well-nurtured offspring.

PROVENANCE
Robert de Semallé (1849-1936), France – A secretary in the French Embassy and was an avid collector of Chinese works of art between 1880-1884.