Page 74 - Bonhams Chinese Art September 2015 NY

184 184
an imPerial PolyChrome laCquer
185 ‘anbaxian’ box and Cover
72 | BoNHams Qianlong
The cover finely carved with a cinnabar
red bamboo drum and rods and framed
by a border of bats and clouds, the deep
carving revealing a lighter shade of lacquer
underneath, incised with two different
geometrical diapers and key fret borders.
11cm (4 3/8in) wide (2).

£2,000 - 3,000
CNY19,000 - 29,000 HK$24,000 - 36,000

The present lot is one of a set of eight boxes,
each with decoration representing one of
the Eight Daoist Immortals, that would have
fitted inside a large peach-shaped ‘chun’
casket. Compare with the lower right hand
box in an Imperial polychrome lacquer ware
set, Qianlong, sold in Christie’s Hong Kong,
30 November 2011, lot 3068. See another
similar set, also complete with a comparable
box, sold in Christie’s New York, 21-22 March
2013, lot 1319.
See another set held in the Shanghai
Museum, but with nine red cinnabar lacquer
boxes, illustrated in Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji,
Vol. 6, Qing, Beijing, 1993, no. 219.

The larger container box would have been in
shape of a peach, a symbol of longevity, and
would have been emblazoned with a large
春 character for ‘spring’, reinforcing wishes
for everlasting youth. The present smaller
box has the attributes of Zhang Guolao - the
‘fish drum’ and beaters - and in combination
with the other seven Immortals also suggests
wishes of long life. With the abundance of
auspicious symbolism hidden in its design,
the set would have been a particularly suitable
gift for a special birthday celebration.

185
two Cinnabar laCquer CirCular
boxes and Covers
18th century
Each variously carved with a sage and boy
attendant on a riverbank amongst pine,
paulownia and rockwork, on geometric
pattern grounds.
9.8cm (3.7/8in) diam. (4).

£500 - 800
CNY4,800 - 7,700 HK$6,000 - 9,600