Page 100 - Bonhams, Fine Chinese Art, London November 3, 2022

The black lacquer panel in the present lot was probably made in Despite the lack of official diplomatic ties between Qing China and
Japan; takamaki-e techniques of slightly raised gold-leaf as can Tokugawa Japan in the 18th century, Sino-Japanese trade was
be seen on the rocks of the present lot, was used in Japan, and maintained sustainably, either through Chinese traders in Nagasaki
the landscape scene itself appears to have its origins in Japanese or European intermediaries; see Hao Peng, Trade Relations between
designs. See for example, a Japanese black lacquer and gilt- Qing China and Tokugawa Japan, 1685-1859, Singapore, 2019.
decorated cabinet (one of a pair), at the Qing Court Collection, with Government sponsored and private merchant ships bound for Japan
a very similar landscape but with a party of people in Edo period were often dispatched from Nanjing, Ningbo, Taiwan, Xiamen, and
dress, illustrated in The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from Guangdong. Private operations run by family businesses required
the Forbidden City, New Haven and London, 2010, p.178, pl.54. The strong government connections and sound financial backing. Official
same cabinet is also illustrated in A Lofty retreat from the Red Dust: records of the 18th century reveal that in 1693 the Suzhou silk agent
The Secret Garden of Emperor Qianlong, Beijing, 2012, nos.44 and Li Xu presented ten items of Japanese lacquer to the Court. In this
45, where it is described as Qianlong. way, Japanese lacquer could enter the Qing Court, where it was highly
prized as demonstrated in its use to contain precious works of art.
The cinnabar lacquer frame on the present lot, however, is
demonstrably Chinese. See for example a related black lacquer and
mother-of-pearl-inlaid panel with cinnabar lacquer frame, Yongzheng/
Qianlong, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Furniture of the Ming
and Qing Dynasties, vol.2, Hong Kong, 2002, p.207, no.179.

98 | BONHAMS