A GILT-BRONZE, CLOISONNÉ AND CHAMPLEVE ENAMEL BUDDHIST LION Qianlong The beast expertly modelled and enamelled in a rich lapis blue with flame-like and coiled patterns to simulate fur, with details of the tail, flame-wrapped paws and bell hung at the neck, picked out in gilt bronze, all raised on a stand with lappet and lotus details worked in blue and turquoise champlevé enamel and gilt. 25cm (9 1/2in) high overall. (2). Footnotes: Please note this Lot is to be sold at No Reserve. 本拍品不設底價 清乾隆 銅胎掐絲琺琅鎏金佛獅 Lions are well-regarded as powerful symbols of strength, and in Imperial contexts pairs of lions were often placed at entrances, drawing on their protective associations. For a pair of related cloisonné enamel lions, mid Qing, without stands, 40cm high, in the Qing Court Collection, see the Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels 4, Cloisonné in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Beijing, 2011, pl.80. See also a larger cloisonné enamel lion, Kangxi, illustrated in J.Getz, Catalogue of the Avery collection of Ancient Chinese Cloisonné, New York, 1912, p.41, no.66. A larger cloisonné enamel lion-form censer, Qianlong, 41.7cm high, was sold by Christie's London, 15th May 2007, lot 132. A cloisonné enamel elephant raised on a champlevé stand, Qianlong, was sold by Bonhams Hong Kong, 27th May 2021, lot 80. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing