A very rare and unusually large imperial cloisonné enamel alms bowl. Qianlong period (1735-1796)
Qianlong four-character and of the period
The compressed globular body with bulging shoulders and an inverted lipped mouth rim, to the outside in multi-coloured enamels the Eight Buddhist Emblems each on a lotus flowers base, very large red blossoms, leafy tendrils and scrolls on a greenish-turquoise enamel ground, the large Qianlong mark surrounded by a thin petal border and large crashing waves.
Height 23 cm; diameter 42 cm
Such a remarkable alms bowl was most probably an imperial commission either for Buddhist rituals in the Qing court or as a gift to a Buddhist temple.
清十八世紀 御製銅胎掐絲琺瑯纏枝蓮八吉祥紋缽
掐絲填琺瑯「乾隆年製」楷書款
來源：萊茵河地區私人收藏， 根据物主信息，購於1900年義和團運動期間
参阅：《故宮博物院藏品大系：琺瑯器編2·清掐絲琺瑯》，北京 2011年，圖版260及261，瀋陽故宮博物院亦藏一例，見《瀋陽故宮博物院藏文物精粹：琺瑯卷》，遼寧2007年，圖版1，另邦瀚斯香港拍賣，2016年6月2日，編號5，而乾隆掐絲款的例子可見《故宮博物院藏品大系：琺瑯器編2·清掐絲琺瑯》，北京2011年，圖案209及210
Provenance
According to the present owner this bowl was acquired privately from a Düsseldorf family whose ancestor was in China at the time of the Boxer Rebellion.
Literature
Compare similar but much smaller bowls in: Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2, Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1444-1911), Beijing 2011, plates 260 and 261, The Prime Cultural Relics Collection By Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum: The Enamel Volume, Liaoning 2007, plate 1, and Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2.6.2016, lot 5. For examples of Qianlong enammeld marks see: Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2, Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1444-1911), Beijing 2011, plates 209 and 210