AN IMPERIAL CLOISONNE ENAMEL TRIPOD CENSER, China, incised Qianlong four-character mark and the inventory mark xiong and of the period. The censer is of compressed form with a pair of small loop handles. It is brightly decorated with scrolling lotus below a band of ruyi-heads to the rim. Each of the three feet are also surrounded by ruyi-heads, which are separated by three floral sprays that surround the gilt bronze mark - Property from a German private collection, assembled prior 1990 - It is known from the imperial records that in the seventh year the Qianlong reign, the emperor commissioned for cloisonne enamel vessels to be made and inscribed with additional characters from the Thousand Character Classic. During the seventh to the eighth year the characters: tian, di, huang, yu, zhou, ri, yue ying, cheng, su, lie, zhang, lai qiu, dong, run, yu, cheng, sui, lu, lu, yang, yun, teng, zhi, yu, dia, jie, wei, yu, kun, gang, zhu, cheng, ye, qiang, chen, guo and hao, were used. For a discussion, see Zhang Rong, Reverence and Perfection, Magnificent Imperial Cloisonne Enamels from a Private European Collection, Christie's Hong Kong, 2013, pp. 8-9 - Property from an old Berlin private collection, acquired before 1990 - Few filled losses to enamel, wear to gilding