Page 86 - Irving Collection Part II Chinese Art

I
L A C Q U E R • J A D E • B R O N Z E • I N K T H E R V I N G C O L L E C T I O N 髹金飾玉 - 歐雲伉儷珍藏

1127 A CARVED RED LACQUER SQUARE “DRAGON” BOX AND COVER
CHINA, QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

With indented corners, the top of the cover intricately carved with three The dragon is an ancient symbol, and the fve-clawed dragon is the symbol
fve-clawed dragons encircling a faming pearl amidst crashing waves of imperial power, and as such is a predominant decorative motif in China.
within a key-fret border, with further crashing waves on the sides of the The horned fve-clawed dragon, long, is considered the most powerful
cover and box, the interior and base lacquered black species of dragon, one of the four divine animals, and is a bringer of rain and
also symbolizes fertility. On the center of the present box, three fve-clawed
7√ in. (20 cm.) wide
dragons with horns and scaly bodies contest a faming pearl against a dense
$12,000-18,000
ground of wind-tossed waves. Very similar decoration can be seen on a pair
of quadrilobed (begonia-shaped) boxes in the Tianjin Art Museum, illustrated
PROVENANCE
Roger Keverne, London, 2000. in Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji, vol. 6, Beijing, 1993, p. 186, pl. 222, and another pair
The Irving Collection, no. 3874. of quadrilobed boxes sold at Christie’s, Hong Kong 30 May 2005, lot 1346.
Compare, also, two circular boxes carved with similar decoration of dragons
amidst waves illustrated in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace
Museum, Beijing, 1985, pls. 310 and 311.
清十八世紀 剔紅遊龍趕珠倭角方蓋盒

(detail)

84 P A R T I I