Gold bowl with a leather case, mark for the personal use of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-1795), Qing dynasty, 18th c., work of the Muslim regions

Gold bowl with a leather case, mark for the personal use of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-1795), Qing dynasty, 18th c., work of the Muslim regions

• Image Number: K1D001241N000000000PAF
• Dynasty: Qing dynasty
• Category: Miscellaneous objects
• Function: Container
• Material: Minerals/Metals/Gold
• Description:
  The gold bowl was stored in a round leather box painted with gold on a wooden frame. The white silk on the lid recorded the origin of the gold bowl in Han, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan characters: “On December 17, the forty ninth (1784) year of Qianlong reign, Beler Erdhir, the king of Hami Zasak Prefecture, presented a piece of gold bowl.” According to textual research, King Erdhir VI of Zasak Prefecture presented this golden bowl to thank Emperor Qianlong for ordering his family’s hereditary title. This gold bowl from Xinjiang is decorated with flower and leaf patterns at the mouth edge and around the foot with the filigree technique. The belly of the bowl is carved with pomegranates and filigree flower and leaf patterns. The unique gold bead welding process is used to decorate the floor with extremely small gold beads, so that the bowl wall is covered with gold beads. Although it is like carving roe patterns, it presents a special texture and foreign style. The inside of the foot is carved with double hooks of “Qianlong Imperial” regular script. It was used by Emperor Qianlong.