Antique Chinese Champlevé Enamel Bronze Vase | Archaistic Ring Handle, Late Qing

A striking antique Chinese champlevé enamel and bronze/brass vase, decorated in an archaistic style inspired by ancient Chinese ritual bronzes.

This unusual small vase has a wonderfully complex design, combining colourful champlevé enamel with richly textured and relief-decorated metalwork. The bulbous lower body is decorated with turquoise blue, red and white enamel within scrolling archaistic motifs, separated by bands of intricate geometric decoration.

The upper section features stylised archaistic animal and scroll motifs in relief, together with two loose ring handles suspended from projecting mounts. Further geometric decoration appears around the neck and foot, giving the piece an exceptionally detailed appearance from every angle.

The form and decoration are characteristic of Chinese archaistic metalwork produced during the late Qing and early Republic period, and I believe this example most likely dates from around the late 19th to early 20th century. This dating is an attribution based upon its construction, materials and decorative style rather than a documented provenance.

The underside bears hand-scratched characters or initials resembling “D / P”. Their significance is unknown and they may represent an old collector, inventory or ownership mark rather than a maker’s signature.

Dimensions

Height: approx. 15 cm
Maximum diameter: approx. 7.5 cm

Condition

Good antique condition with age-related wear throughout. There are areas of wear and loss to the enamel, surface marks, patination and oxidation consistent with age and use. Please study the detailed photographs carefully as these form an important part of the condition description.

A particularly characterful example of Chinese archaistic enamelled metalwork and an attractive cabinet-sized piece for a collection of Chinese antiques, Asian metalware or antique champlevé.