Page 192 - China's Renaissance in Bronze, The Robert H.CIague Collection of Later Chinese Bronzes 1100-1900

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lacquer. Covered circular boxes were produced in lacquer throughout the
Ming and Qing, their popularity prompting imitations in bronze, porcelain/
and cloisonne enamel 5 from the late Ming onward. The decoration often
spreads across the entire cover in Yuan and early Ming carved lacquer boxes,
but by the mid-sixteenth century the principal decorative motif usually
appears within a central medallion.
Popular as subjects of the decorative arts since the Tang, dragons and
phoenixes were usually presented separately until the Yuan, 6 after which
they were occasionally presented together. Symbolizing the interdepen-
dence of complementary opposites, yang and y/n, male and female, emperor
and empress, the motif of paired dragon and phoenix found favor during
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the Wanli era, often embellishing imperial porcelains of the day, and soared
to popularity during the Qing, frequently appearing on materials destined
for the palace [compare 21].
The decoration reflects typical Qianlong style, evident in the overall
complexity of the design and especially in the cusped lower edge of the
phoenix heads. Diligently copied, the insistent leiwen bands are a charac-
teristic feature of Qianlong carved lacquer boxes, as are the cloud heads,
which are simplified renditions of those on carved Ming lacquers. The lightly
textured ground is less a reference to the subtly textured grounds of Kangxi
bronzes [see 32, 33] than to the sometimes lightly stippled yellow grounds
of Qianlong carved lacquers.
Perhaps this covered box's most remarkable feature is that it was not
cast but completely cold worked. The cover comprises two pieces of metal
separately crafted and fused together: the flat top, which extends about
two centimeters beyond the leiwen band bordering the central medallion,
and the vertical sides with their rounded shoulders and leiwen embellished
lip. Encircling the central medallion like a halo, a line indicating the join of
top and sides is visible in some parts of the design. A vertical seam marks
the join of the two ends of the metal piece that constitutes the cover's walls
and shoulders. In essence a mirror image of the cover, the bowl comprises a
flat base plate, corresponding to the cover's flat top, and a curving cavetto,
corresponding to the cover's walls and shoulders; a vertical seam indicates
the join of the cavetto's two ends. Fused into place with molten metal, the
separately prepared footring conceals the join of cavetto and base plate.
Soldered around the interior of the box, just inside the mouth, a short flange
projects upward to receive the cover, the solder bolstered with four
evenly spaced rivets whose heads are visible on the exterior of the box,

188 10 C H I N A ' S R E N A I S S A N C E IN B R O N Z E