PAIR OF BUFFALOES IN CLOISONNES ENAMELS ON COPPER
China
Light. Probably incense stick holders. Both beasts were made to mirror each other. They are shown standing on their four legs, frontal, with their heads turned towards the spectator. They are summoned by protuberances at the three openings: two circular; the third rectangular. On their sky-blue enamelled bodies, the partitions draw floral scrolls, leiwen and taotie. Apocryphal mark of Emperor Qianlong with four characters in kaishu on the protuberances at the top of the spines.
H: 19 cm - W: 19 cm - D: 8.3 cm
Approximate weight (each): 1147 grams
Comparison: For a stylistically comparable but Qianlong buffalo in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, see R. Soame JENYNS and William WATSON F.S.A. "Chinese Art". Phaidon, Oxford. Ill. 84.

A QIANLONG-MARKED CLOISONNE ENAMEL PAIR OF BULL
China