This pair of magnificent vases is impressive for its large size and lavish decoration depicting matching dragons and phoenix writhing among scrolling clouds and floral scrolls. The vases embody the grandeur and power of the Qianlong reign. It is a successful marriage of archaism, as seen in the ritual bronze fangzun form, but with an 18th-century twist. While there are other imperial archaistic bronze vases in various public and private collects ions, examples with crisp, high-relief decoration such as the present pair are extremely rare. No other bronze vessels of this form and decoration appear to have been published.

The pair is a remarkable test.mes nt to the skilled craftsmanship of the Qianlong reign and the Emperor’s fascination with archaism. The vases belong to a special group of vessels that took their inspiration from archaic ritual objects, which can be seen from not only their form but also their stylistic decoration echoing that of archaic vessels. Modelled after ancient bronze wine vessels fangzun and boldly constructed with an emphasis on angularity, the present pair of vases is imbued with a sense of solemnity. A line drawing of a related fangzun with lavish friezes and zoomorphic handles suspending loose rings, attributed to the Zhou dynasty, is published in Xiqing gujian [Catalogue of Chinese ritual bronzes in the collects ion of the Qianlong Emperor], vol. 10, p. 12. The stylised cicada motif above the feet is also inspired by Shang and Zhou dynasty bronzes. See a 12th to 11th century BC bronze fanglei wine vessel decorated with wide-eyed cicadas at the tips of the triangular blades, in the collects ion of the Art Institute of Chicago (accession no. 1938.17), published in Art Institute of Chicago: The Essential Guide, rev. ed., Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 2003, p. 63; and a Western Zhou bronze lei handled vessel with large stylised cicadas and loose rings, excavated from Fengxiang, Shaanxi, and exhibited in The Cultural Grandeur of the Western Zhou Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2012, cat. no. 67. The ‘C’-scrolls on the necks and feet, on the other hand, can be traced back to archaic jades. See, for example, a 3rd century BC scabbard slide with comparable scrollwork in low relief in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 2008.282).

In terms of style, the vessels also reflect a harmonious blend of Chinese decorative motifs with foreign design elements. The combination of dragon and phoenix is highly auspicious and symbolises the emperor and empress. It also represents conjugal bliss and is a typical wedding motif commonly seen on decorating vessels made for imperial palaces. The scrolling clouds symbolise the granting of good fortune, blessings and wishes to the couple. While the decoration of dragons and phoenix is typically Chinese, the arabesque scrollwork surrounding the birds is strongly indebted to the Western Rococo style that flourished during the reign of King Louis XV (r. 1715-1774) of France and that was favoured by the Qianlong Emperor for its exoticism.

Vases of this type would have comprised part of a five-piece altar garniture made for specific temples in the Imperial Palace and were generally commissioned as tributes to the emperor. Their imposing size would have created a dramatic scene during ritual ceremonies, thus emphasising the importance and solemnity of such events. A set of altar garnitures comprised of two vases, two candlesticks and a censer, was sold in these rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2826; a pair of related bronze vases decorated with dragons was sold at Christie’s London, 15th May 2012, lot 188; another pair, cast solely with phoenix indicating that the pair may have been commissioned as a tribute to the Qianlong Emperor’s mother, from the Alfred Morrison collects ion, was sold at Christie’s London, 9th November 2004, lot 17; and a single vase was in our London rooms, 8th November 2017, lot 46. Compare also an undecorated set of large garniture, in the Xianruo Temple, located in the garden of Cininggong (Palace of Compassion and Tranquillity) within the Forbidden City, where the empress and consorts conducted Buddhist religious ceremonies, illustrated in situ in Qingdai gongting shenghuo [Life in the Forbidden City during the Qing dynasty], Hong Kong, 1985, pl. 467.

此對方壺魁碩富麗，飾龍鳳呈祥，盤龍騰於如意雲紋間，舞鳳翔於卷草花卉上，輝映成對，顯乾隆天威。採上古彝器方尊之形，洽十八世紀時興之風，此乃融古匯今之大成。各公眾、私人收藏雖不乏御製仿古銅壺，然如此對紋飾爽利、作深浮雕者，實屬罕有，遍尋著錄未得一例。

乾隆尚古，其時巧匠技藝精妙，皆於此對可見一斑。此二件出自一組仿古器物，形、紋皆從古制。以青銅酒器方尊為形，棱角分明，矜肅端嚴。《西清古鑑》載有一線繪方尊，紋飾精繁，獸耳活環，傳為周朝，見卷10，頁12。底足上方作蟬紋，亦傚商周青銅，可參見一方罍，公元前十二至十一世紀，於三角垂葉紋尖飾寬目蟬紋，芝加哥藝術博物館藏（藏品編號1938.17），錄於《Art Institute of Chicago: The Essential Guide》，修訂版，芝加哥藝術博物館，芝加哥，2003年，頁63。另比較一西周青銅壘，帶活環耳，飾大蟬紋，陝西鳳翔出土，曾展於《赫赫宗周：西周文化特展》，國立故宮博物院，台北，2012年，編號67。頸、足所飾回紋可溯至高古玉器，紐約大都會藝術博物館藏有一玉劍璏（藏品編號2008.282），公元前三世紀，其淺浮雕回形紋飾同此相類。

論風格，此二件融貫中西。龍鳳呈祥既象徵帝后，又祝頌伉儷情深，多為皇宮帝苑裝飾器物所用。如意雲紋亦為佳偶送福。龍鳳雖為華夏紋飾，卷草花卉則頗見西洋洛可可韻致，該紋飾興於法蘭西路易十五年間（1715-1774年），因其異域風情而備受乾隆皇帝喜愛。

此類方壺應原屬五供，奉於宮殿廟宇，乃受命而造，進獻天子。其碩麗器型莊重有加，為祭禮場合平添威儀。香港蘇富比2008年4月11日曾售一套，編號2826，含二寶瓶、二燭台及一香爐。另一對銅壺，龍紋為飾，售於倫敦佳士得2012年5月15日，編號188。再比較一對，僅飾鳳紋，或為獻乾隆生母所造，放山居舊藏，售於倫敦佳士得2004年11月9日，編號17。還有單獨一件，售於倫敦蘇富比2017年11月8日，編號46。一套較大，無紋無飾，奉於慈寧宮花園咸若館，該地乃后妃禮佛之所，供奉原貌錄於《清代宮廷生活》，香港，1985，圖版467。