A PAIR OF CHINESE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL VASES.

Qing Dynasty, 19th Century.

Each of tapered form rising to a steep shoulder and a waisted neck from a wide rounded foot, decorated overall with butterflies and meandering floral patterns against a turqouise ground with a blue band dividing the body and the foot, a lappet band beneath the raised rim, 37cm H. (2)

Provenance: Thomas Child (1841-1898) and his family, thence by descent.

清十九世紀 銅胎畫琺瑯瓶一對

An English photographer and engineer best known for his pioneering photography work in China. Child produced a large body of photographs during his time in Beijing in the 1870s and 1880s, a time when virtually no other photographers operated in the city. During the two decades he spent in China, Child compiled the earliest comprehensive photographic catalogue of the customs, architecture, and people of late Qing dynasty Beijing.

Child returned to England in 1889 with his family, except for his eldest son Alfred, also employed with the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, who stayed behind in Beijing as his father's successor. Child formally retired from the Customs service the following year.

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