Page 168 - Christie's Hong Kong Important Chinese Works Of Art May 30 2022

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
士紳珍藏
2899

A RARE PAIR OF LARGE IMPERIAL CARVED 清乾隆 剔彩春壽桃式寳盒一對
POLYCHROME LACQUER PEACH-FORM 存世的剔彩春壽寶盒多為圓盒，桃式寳盒極少，如本拍品成對者更為稀罕。
BOXES AND COVERS 流通領域中曾見類似剔彩春壽桃式寳盒四件，一件於香港佳士得2011年
11月30日拍賣，拍品3068號，內置桃形小盒；一於香港蘇富比2008年4月11日
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
拍賣，拍品2866號；一於1985年6月17日倫敦佳士得拍賣，拍品417號；一於
The top of each cover is carved with a panel of conforming peach 紐約佳士得1982年2月23-24日拍賣，拍品509號。另有一較小例於香港蘇富
shape, deeply carved through layers of polychrome lacquer on 比2010年10月8日拍賣，拍品2642號。上海博物館藏有一件紋飾類似的剔紅
a green wan-diaper ground with a jubaopen, ‘basket of treasures’, 春壽桃式寳盒，內置小盒，見《中國漆器全集-6-清》，福建，圖版219號。
radiating red, green and yellow rays illuminating a large
character chun, ‘Spring’, decorated with a roundel enclosing Shoulao 相對常見的剔彩春壽圓盒可參考清宮舊藏兩件，尺寸皆較小，一件載於
and a deer in landscape, the central motif flanked by a pair of sinuous 《和光剔彩-故宮藏漆圖錄》，台北，圖版137號；一件見故宮博物院藏文物
dragons amidst densely scrolling clouds, the rounded sides of the box 珍品全集，《清代漆器》，香港，圖版61號。此類剔彩春壽寶盒的製造最早
and cover with bats in flight amidst leafy boughs bearing peaches and 見於嘉靖一朝，參考台北故宮博物院藏一例，上揭書，圖版87號。
blossoms, the interior and base lacquered black.
18 in. (45.9 cm.) wide (2)
HK$3,800,000-4,500,000 US$490,000-580,000

Carved polychrome boxes of this form, design and size are very rare,
and it is even rarer to find them in pairs. Only four other nearly
identical examples appear to have been sold at auctions. The first, with
smaller matching boxes and covers, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
30 November 2011, lot 3068; the second sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong,
11 April 2008, lot 2866; a third was sold at Christie's London,
17 June 1985, lot 417; and the fourth was sold at Christie's New York
23- 24 February 1982, lot 509. A smaller peach-shaped box of the same
design was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2010, lot 2642.
Compare also with a carved cinnabar lacquer peach-form box with
related decoration accommodating smaller conforming boxes and covers
in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Zhongguoqiqi quanji, vol 6, Qing,
Fujian, p. 185, no. 219.

More commonly known are the circular polychrome lacquer boxes
with identical design on the top panel but with different borders,
such as a Qianlong-marked example in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured
Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, p. 136, no. 137;
and another example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in
The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Lacquer
Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, p. 88, no. 61. Compare also
with a Jiajing-marked prototype in the National Palace Museum, Taipei,
see ibid., p. 97, no. 87.

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