This zun is repoussé enamel, the craft where metal is bent, filled with glass and fired until colour sits flush in a wired cell. the 乾隆 workshop made it a court speciality.
The pattern is the argument. Repoussé enamel builds colour from the inside out, each cell a small field bounded by brass, so the zun reads as order made visible.
Enamel ware let the court turn its oldest forms into its newest materials, fire and metal standing in for ink and bronze.
A zun like this outlived the fashion that produced it. The repoussé enamel still glows, which is the only immortality the workshop ever promised.
Object details
| Name | 乾隆 Repoussé enamel zun (乾隆款錾胎珐琅仿古牺尊) |
|---|---|
| Artefact no. | 故00116858 |
| Technique | Repoussé enamel (錾胎珐琅) |
| Period | Imperial dynasty, 乾隆 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.