A SUPERB AND VERY RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL WINE VESSEL, GU17th centuryThe square section rising from a tall spreading foot to a trumpet neck, superbly enamelled in vivid colours with a centraltaotie mask and pairs of confrontedchilong and phoenix at the foot and neck, applied with evenly spaced scrolling flanges.36.3cm (14 1/4in) highProvenance: 十七世紀 掐絲琺瑯饕餮纹方觚Provenance:An important Taiwanese private collectionExhibited and published:Chinese Treasures from the Chang Foundation, The Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2001, p.94, no.108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94，編號108The present gu vase is visually and physically imposing and is remarkable for its innovative representation of the archaic gu vase, exhibiting the technical and artistic developments revived during the early Qing dynasty.The ancient form of the vase, as well as the archaistic motifs of taotie masks and ruyi-form flanges, also reflects the archaistic scholarly trends of the 17th/18th centuries. The academic trend known as the 'search for evidence' (kaozheng 考證) movement began in the early 17th century. Although this movement originated in a renewed scholarly interest in ancient texts and inscriptions on archaic bronzes, as literati sought a more empirical approach to understanding their ancient heritage, it led to a greater fascination for decorative designs adopted from ancient bronzes too. Responding to this wave of archaism which would later be adopted by the Imperial court and Manchu emperors who wished to display their patronage of Han Chinese culture, artisans reproduced the motifs and patterns of ancient bronzes on their cloisonné enamel wares. Xiqing gujian (Catalogue of the Xiqing Antiquities), provided abundant prototypes to the recreations of archaistic pieces.This type of cloisonne enamel gu vase decorated with taotie mask in deep blue enamels and applied with ruyi-form flanges is very rare. See one similar example in the Qing Court collection, illustrated inpendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 2, Beijing, 2011, no.36.此器仿商周青銅出戟仿古形製，呈四方形，敞口，長頸，高足外撇，四面及角落出戟，甚為壯觀。通體施天藍地琺瑯釉地，以精美的掐絲技法勾勒。口內壁飾纏枝蓮紋，極為華麗，腹部飾深藍琺瑯饕餮紋，頸及足部飾螭龍紋飾，上下層相對應。整件器物既華麗又古樸，體現了清初掐絲琺瑯的精湛工藝。晚明以來常見三代銅器為標準而創作器物，金玉竹木皆有為之。這一慕古風尚上接宋代宣和，下迄清代乾隆，然而雖以古物為本，裝飾大多數實則為&...