Qianlong seal marks, Qing Dynasty|Each with tapering neck flanked by a pair of dragon handles, enamelled to one side with chrysanthemum, peony and prunus borne on gnarled trees and with perched birds, the other side with a lotus pond alternating with a flying crane, together with two double-tiered Japanese cinnabar lacquer stands deeply carved to each side with a lion mask flanked by two peonies, the panel top painted with a coiling dragon, Meiji period. The vases 74.8cm (29 3/8in) high; the stands 77.4cm (30 1/2in) high (4).|清 銅胎掐絲琺瑯鴛鴦花石圖大瓶一對「大清乾隆年製」篆書鑄款Provenance: acquired prior to 29 November 1984 (date of Spink & Son Ltd., London valuation)An English private collection, and thence by descent來源： 購於1984年11月29日前（記錄於倫敦古董商Spink & Son Ltd.之估價文件）英國私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今Although there are considerable numbers of cloisonné enamel vessels with motifs of flowers and birds from the Qianlong period, very few of them are of the same impressive size. The present lot depicts floral designs of the four seasons on a wan-diaper background. Chrysanthemums, closely associated with the hermetic poet Tao Qian 陶潛 (365-427), represent autumn; peonies symbolise late spring and early summer; plum blossoms represent winter or early spring and symbolise strength and endurance. The lotus, extolled in a famous essay by Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤 (1017-1073), represents summer and symbolises purity. For a related cloisonné enamel vase with double handles and floral designs of the four seasons on a wan-diaper ground, but of hexagonal form, mid-Qing dynasty, see Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 3, Beijing, 2011, p.187, no.152. Compare with a large cloisonné enamel 'birds and flowers' vase, with similar Qianlong cast six-character seal mark within double rectangles and of the period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2221.