Page 54 - Sotheby's London Important Chinese Art Nov. 2019

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PROPERTY OF A DANISH PRIVATE COLLECTOR
A RARE AND LARGE CARVED CINNABAR
LACQUER BOAT-SHAPED INCENSE BOX
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

modelled as a large boat, elaborately carved to the
curved bough with baijxiang (‘Eight Buddhist Emblem’)
interspersed with lotus blossoms borne on meandering
leafy scrolls, the upper section mounted with three parts,
one in the form of a pavillion, followed by a room with
twelve doors reticulated and detailed with keyfret border,
a larger door towards the front, and a backroom rendered
in accordance to the curved silhouette of the boat and
carved to the sides with a rectangular panel enclosing
a stylised geometric design amidst bats flying amongst
ruyi clouds, the exterior further modelled with four small
drawers, carved wood stand
(9)
Length 69.5 cm, 27¼ in
Skilfully fashioned in the form of a boat, this box
exemplifies the Qianlong Emperor’s penchant for
extravagant and unusual playthings. With its tall rising
stern and sophisticated design of roofed structures, this
boat recalls the magnificent touring boats used by the
emperor during his inspection tours of southern China.
Such a boat is depicted in the scroll painting The Qianlong
Emperor’s Southern Inspection Tour, by the court artist
Xu Yang (active ca. 1750- after 1776), dated in accordance
with 1770, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York,
accession no. 1988.350a–d.
Lacquer models of boats are unusual, and those of such
large dimensions are rare; a slightly smaller boat in the
Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan
cang diao qi [Carved lacquer in the collection of the Palace
Museum], Beijing, 1985, pl. 362; another, was sold in our
Hong Kong rooms, 27th April 2003, lot 289, and again
in these rooms, 15th May 2019, lot 82; a pair was sold in
our New York rooms, 19th September 2001, lot 43; and
a further boat, in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial
Museum, Hangzhou, is illustrated in Wang Chunfa ed.,
Zhongguo guojia bowuguan guancang wenwu yanjiu
congshu. Za xiang juan [Studies of the collections of the
National Museum of China. Miscellaneous], Shanghai,
2018, pl. 19-2. See also a boat with the hull carved with
dragons, sold in these rooms, 19th December 1980, lot
242.
£ 50,000-70,000
HK$ 489,000-685,000 US$ 62,500-87,500
清乾隆 剔紅八吉祥紋畫舫式香盒

52 Buyers are liable to pay both the hammer price (as estimated above) and the buyer’s premium together with any applicable taxes and Artist’s Resale Right (which will depend on the individual circumstances).
Refer to the Buying at Auction and VAT sections at the back of this catalogue for further information.