A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND EXCEEDINGLY RARE IMPERIAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL INCENSE BURNER, LUDUANIncised Qianlong six-character mark and of the periodMasterfully modelled as a powerful standing single-horned mythical beast, the well-proportioned bulbous body meticulously and colourfully decorated in pink, yellow, green, blue and white enamels with delicate Indian-lotus blooms borne on curling tendrils, the movable head connected to the body with a hinged joint with the joint carefully incised with a six-character reign mark inkaishu, reserved on a vibrant turquoise ground, the beast head brilliantly depicted with its manes cascading in several undulating layers, the tail uniquely enamelled in various vivid colours, the head and paws modelled with gilt-bronzes.34cm (13 3/8in) highProvenance: 清乾隆 御製銅鎏金掐絲琺瑯纏枝番蓮紋甪端薰爐「大清乾隆年製」楷書刻款Provenance:An important Taiwanese private collectionExhibited and published:Chinese Treasures from the Chang Foundation, Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2001, p.98, no.112Ching Wan Society Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei, 2012, p.223來源：重要台灣私人收藏展覽及出版：《中國美術の精華：台北‧鴻禧美術館所藏品展》，松濤美術館，東京，2001年，頁98，編號112《清翫雅集廿周年慶收藏展》，國立歷史博物館，臺北，2012年，頁223The present lot features the outstanding quality of enamelling and casting at the highest level, which is characteristic of cloisonné enamel vessels made in the Palace workshops, Qingdai Gongting Zaobanchu (清宮造辦處).Imperial works of art made for the Court during the Qianlong period oftenbine archaic-inspired form and design, reflecting the emperor's appreciation of the past, with the opulence and grandeur representing the Qing Court's taste, at the height of the Qing dynasty. The exceptional result was due to the technical virtuosity achieved at the cloisonné enamel ateliers during the Qianlong reign; nowhere better demonstrated than in the brilliantly multi-coloured body and tail as well as the tour-de-force of the luduan head on top of the vessel, fully displaying the power of the mythical beast.It is extremely rare to find a cloisonne enamel luduan with the Qianlong reign mark, and only one other similar example appears to have been published, in the Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, illustrated in The Prime Cultural Relics Collected by Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum. The Enamel Volume., Liaoning, 2007, p.93, no.5.此薰爐為乾隆宮殿陳設品及實用品，通常放置於大殿內兩側堂陛之上，為成對使用。甪端胎體厚重，頭部向上仰起，兩排整齊牙齒中露一舌頭，調皮生動，短頸周圍一圈整齊的頸鬣，頭部、頜頸之鈕、身上火焰及足抓均為鎏金，頜頸之鈕上刻「大清乾隆年製」楷書款，甪端圓鼓身體掐絲嵌纏枝花卉紋，琺瑯配色更見罕見的粉紅色，值得關注是其尾巴造型非常獨特，整體造型挺拔，鎏金緊實，掐絲細&#...