A water pot held the clean water a brush was dipped in, a scholar’s everyday tool. The Qianlong workshop enamelled one with twin dragons chasing a pearl, so that even the smallest implement on the desk carried the imperial motif.
The form is compact, a low vessel with a pulled spout, and the cloisonne wraps it without a wasted millimetre. Qianlong loved objects that proved the workshop could do anything at any scale, and a dragon water pot is that claim in miniature.
Dragons and a pearl is the oldest imperial image, order circling the source of light. Put it on a water pot and the scholar’s desk becomes a model of the cosmos, tidy and gilded.
The reign produced enamel without restraint. This pot is one of its quieter excesses, and still it sparkles.
Object details
| Name | Qianlong-mark cloisonne ‘Twin Dragons’ water pot (乾隆款掐丝珐琅双龙纹水丞) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00116196 |
| Technique | Cloisonne enamel (掐丝珐琅) |
| Period | Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign (1736-1795) |
| Collection | The Palace Museum, Beijing |
| Source | Palace Museum Digital Collection (数字文物库) |
Image © The Palace Museum. View the original in the Palace Museum collection.