A BEIJING ENAMEL ON COPPER 'PEONIES' WATER POT, QIANLONG MARK AND PERIODChina, 1736-1795, ca. 1740. The pear-shaped body supported on a low splayed foot and rising to a waisted neck below a flared rim, the shape slightly reminiscent of a Zhadou. Finely enameled on a rich Imperial yellow ground with three large peony blossoms, one of purple and lavender, one of pink and one of blue color. The neck draped by a neatly painted scroll of morning glories seen from the top against a pale turquoise ground. The interior white, the rims gilt, the white base inscribed with a blue-enameled four-character reign mark within double squares. Provenance: Property from an important private collection. Old collector number '77' painted in white lacquer to base. Condition: Superb condition with minor wear, traces of use and minor firing flaws. The gilding to lip and foot rim with extensive abrasions. Blue light inspected, absolutely no restoration whatsoever.Weight: 172 g Dimensions: Height 7.6 cm The decoration seen on the present water pot is unusual for Qianlong vessels of this type, although a near-identical vessel from the same period, painted with a peony design on a yellow-ground, is illustrated in Sotheby's London, 14th November 2002, lot 364, described as an 'Imperial Enamel Water Pot, Qianlong Mark And Period'.In its shape and delicate small size, this water pot is after a group of slightly earlier, Kangxi period vessels generally painted with motifs from flora and fauna. For an example from this group, see a Kangxi mark and period vase, finely painted with blooming flowers in panels on a yellow ground, illustrated in Michael Gillingham, Chinese Painted Enamels, Oxford, 1978, page 15, plate 6. The pale turquoise color used for the ground of the scroll at the neck of the present water pot is unusual, although reminiscent of that found on the inside of a bowl from the Kangxi period, illustrated by Sotheby's Hong Kong in Important Chinese Art on October 3rd 2018, lot 3610. Shades of purple and lavender, as found in one of the three peonies on the present water pot, were also frequently used on Kangxi vessels, especially before pink enamel was introduced into the Chinese enamellers' repertoire employed by the Palace Workshop. Another characteristic of Kangxi enamel on copper vessels are their slightly oversized imperial marks, again as seen on the present lot and on the bowl illustrated by Sotheby's Hong Kong in Important Chinese Art on October 3rd, 2018, lot 3610. For all of the reasons mentioned above, it can safely be assumed that the present water pot was made rather early in the Qianlong period, probably ca. 1740.乾隆款及年代銅胎琺琅牡丹水丞 中國,1736-1795, 約1740年。梨形水丞,圈足外翻,腹部喇叭形,升至腰部頸部,其形狀略似渣斗。黃色釉地上精美琺琅彩,三朵大牡丹花,紫色、粉紅色和藍色。頸部畫著牽牛花,綠松石地開光。水丞內部白色,邊緣鎏金,底足白色底上藍色琺瑯雙方框四字款。 來源:一個重要私人收藏產業。底部可見老藏家所注'77' 標志。 品相:狀況極佳,有輕微磨損、使用痕跡和輕微燒制缺陷。 唇沿和圈足邊緣鎏金有大量擦傷。 藍光檢查,絕對沒有任何修復。 重量:172克 尺寸:高7.6 厘米