The form known as baoyueping, or “moon flask,” can be traced to prototypes of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Named for its rounded body resembling the full moon, the shape carries auspicious associations of harmony, prosperity and peace, and became an important ceremonial and decorative vessel within the imperial court. A related example in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, a Qing cloisonné enamel moon flask with kui dragon handles decorated with peonies, demonstrates the development of the form. Compared with the Palace Museum example, the present pair employs fully sculptural dragon handles rather than flatter, more restrained models, lending a greater sense of dynamism and realism.
Moon flasks of this type enjoyed particular favour during the Qing dynasty, especially under the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Archival records from the Imperial Workshops (Qinggong Neiwufu Zaobanchu Dang'an) note an order issued in the thirty fifth year of the Qianlong period for the production of a large cloisonné enamel moon flask intended for the Siyongzhai Hall, with specific instructions that the finished work should receive additional gilding, reflecting the emperor’s particular appreciation for enamel vessels of this type. A further comparable example is preserved in the collection of the Shanghai Museum, a cloisonné enamel flattened flask with dragon and phoenix decoration and chilong handles, whose form and decorative conception closely resemble the present pair and may suggest derivation from a common workshop design. The present example, however, is distinguished by its exceptionally rich yet refined palette and, significantly, by its survival as a pair, enhancing both its rarity and its commanding decorative presence. See a closely related example from the collection of David B. Peck III, sold at Christie’s New York, 18 September 2014, lot 640.