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A gilt bronze and cloisonné enamel moonflask

China, Ming Dynasty, 17th century
Height: 31.5 cm (12.3 inches). Width: 19 cm (7.5 inches)

The present moonflask is remarkable for its elegant form and superb quality of cloisonné enameling. It is also an early example of flasks of this form made in the cloisonné technique, with the majority of examples in museums and private collections attributable to the 17th century ; such as the flask in the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated in Helmut Brinker and Albert Lutz, Chinesisches Cloisonné, Zurich 1985, pl. 188 ; and another published in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, London 1962, pl. 54.
The form f this flask is based on early 15th century Yongle period blue and white porcelain prototypes ; such as the flask illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istambul, vol. II, London 1986, pl. 616 ; and another in the Shangai Museum included in the exhibition Seika jiki ten, Matsuya Ginza, Tokyo 1988, cat. N° 16.