Page 47 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Three Masterpieces

Masterfully carved with a lively dragon striding amid ruyi-
shaped clouds and pairs of archaistic kui phoenix with
interlocking feathers, the present zitan box displays the
artisans’ technical virtuosity and is a superb example of early
Qing dynasty imperial furniture.
Slightly smaller in size than clothing chests, this type of wood
box is believed to have been used for the storage of books and
is therefore often called shuxiang (‘book chest’). However,
these boxes probably served multiple functions. Usually
made of hardwood such as huanghuali and zitan, minimally
decorated with only beadings, equipped with metal lock plates
and loop handles and further reinforced with metal mounts at
the edges, these boxes are also suitable for the storage and
transportation of valuables. The complexity of the decorations
and the depth of the carvings seen on the present box are
therefore highly unusual. Skillfully carved from zitan, a timber
extremely scarce by the time of the reign of the Qianlong
Emperor (r. 1735-1796) and decorated with a five-clawed
dragon symbolising heavenly power, the present box could
only have been made by order of the court.
Zitan was the most precious and highly esteemed timber
available to the master craftsmen working in the Muzuo
(‘wood workshop’) belonging to the Zaobanchu (‘imperial
palace workshop’). With its jade-like silky texture, extremely
fine and dense grain, and subtle and deep lustre, zitan was
the favourite timber of the Ming and Qing courts. Its long
growth period combined with its limited availability made
it especially valuable. By the Qing dynasty excessive felling
of zitan led to the exhaustion of supply in China and by the
Qianlong reign, special measures were taken by the court to
protect, monitor and restrict the use of zitan to the palace
workshops. Exquisitely decorated furniture and objects carved
from rare zitan wood, such as the present box, are thus perfect
symbols of imperial power and amply satisfied the lavish and
extravagant taste of the Qianlong Emperor.
A companion zitan carved box decorated with a left-facing
dragon and archaistic phoenix, attributed to the Qianlong
period, is illustrated in C.Y. Tsai, Zitan. The Most Noble
Hardwood, My Humble House, Taipei, 1996, pp. 218-219.
Another closely similar box, carved with a right-facing dragon
like the present piece, is included in Song Yongji, Gu jiaju
shoucang jianshang baodian [Encyclopedia of appreciation and
connoisseurship of ancient furniture], ed. Hu Desheng, Hong
Kong, 2007, p. 222 middle. The shape, decoration and metal
mounts of these two boxes are almost identical to that of the
present box. For other similar zitan boxes, see for example
two boxes from the Qing court collection, carved with dragons
above waves, reinforced with silver mounts and with matching
stands. These two boxes, still preserved in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, vary slightly in size and proportion and are illustrated of archaistic artefacts, paying homage to history while
respectively in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
Palace Museum. Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II),
Hong Kong, 2002, no. 235, and Complete Edition of Ming and
Qing Furniture Collected in the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2015,
vol. 16: Shelving. Cabinet. Coffer. Chest, no. 113. Zitan boxes
of similar size and shape appear in auctions only occasionally.
THREE MASTERPIECES FROM THE COLLECTION OF AN ENGLISH LADY
Compare a zitan box of similar size and carved with dragons
chasing ‘flaming pearls’, sold in these rooms, 8th October
2013, lot 3220. A smaller zitan box, carved with confronting
chilong and archaistic kui dragons and dated to the early Qing
period, from the Dr S.Y. Yip collection, was recently sold in
these rooms, 5th April 2017, lot 3505.
The phoenix on the present box, finely carved with features
resembling that of a pheasant and surmounted by elegant
ruyi-shaped crowns, illustrate the pinnacle of imperial
workmanship. The complex design of interlocking feathers is
skillfully rendered to preserve the delicate balance of forms
and negative space. Similar archaistic kui phoenix can be found
on a number of zitan furniture in the Qing court collection,
such as a birch-inlaid zitan chair attributed to the Yongzheng
to Qianlong period and a slightly later square-corner cabinet
with archaistic chilong and phoenix. The gracefully rendered
phoenix on these pieces, similarly carved with crescent eyes,
foliate crowns and wings outlined with ruyi scrolls, encapsulate
a sense of antiquity which echoes the taste of the Qianlong
Emperor. Both the chair and the cabinet are still preserved in
the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete
Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Furniture of the
Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), op.cit., nos 53 and 205, the latter
also included in Complete Edition of Ming and Qing Furniture
Collected in the Palace Museum, op.cit., vol. 15: Shelving.
Cabinet. Coffer. Chest, no. 62.
Elegantly and intricately entwined, the phoenix’s feathers recall
elaborate designs of interlacing foliate and floral scrolls derived
from Western rococo motifs, which gained favour under the
patronage of the Qianlong Emperor. Compare a zitan carved
display cabinet from the Qing court collection, decorated
with related interlocking clouds and Western floral scrolls,
preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing and illustrated ibid.
vol. 14: Shelving. Cabinet. Coffer. Chest, no. 28.
Featured with trailing tails and long feathers, the composition
of the phoenix can be highly versatile and used to decorate
imperial objects of various materials. Compare, for example,
an embroidered female outer gown of azure blue gauze from
the Qing court collection, detailed with roundels of similar
archaistic kui phoenix, included in The Complete Collection of
Treasures of the Palace Museum. Costumes and accessories
of the Qing court, Hong Kong, 2005, no. 85. Although confined
within a two-dimensional space, the phoenix on the gown is
decorated with graceful wings and feathers not dissimilar to
that of the present box.
The crescent eyes and ruyi-edged wings are reminiscent
of phoenix from the Yongzheng reign (1723-1735), when
unprecedented effort was devoted to the production
experimenting with new concepts and technology. See, for
instance, the archaistic kui phoenix on a pair of Yongzheng
mark and period Beijing enamel gold teapots and covers;
one of the pair is in the collection of Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore, and the other, formerly in a Parisian collection, was
sold in these rooms, 7th October 2010, lot 2165.
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