Page 56 - Fine Chinese Works of Art Bonhams Hong Kong May 2018

This exceptionally rare box and cover is an outstanding example of
boxes made in the Imperial Palace Workshop, the Zaobanchu, under
the supervision of the Neiwufu Imperial Household Department,
which was in charge of the management of provisions for the Court.
The Zaobanchu was responsible for the making of items for the
personal use of the emperor and his family, ensuring that the exacting
Imperial standards and the Court taste for opulence will be met. The
present box is a testament to the superb craftsmanship and technical
perfection achieved during the 18th century.

The decorative motifs of the five-clawed full-facing dragon encircled
by twelve chi dragons, all around the shou character, indicate that
this box was most likely specially commissioned for an Imperial
birthday; see a related coral on gold peach-shaped box and cover,
1790, commissioned by Court official for the Qianlong emperor for
his eightieth birthday, from the Qing Court Collection, in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, carved with writhing dragons encircling a shou
character, illustrated by E.S.Rawski and J.Rawson, eds., China: The
Three Emperors 1662-1722, London, 2005, p.374, no.294.

Amber was a highly revered material and would have required great
skill and precision to successfully render the shape of the cushion as
well as the finely detailed decorations of each dragon. Amber is also
known as hu po, which can be translated as ‘the tiger’s soul’. As tiger
is considered to be the king of beasts in China, amber is therefore
associated with the strong qualities of the tiger including the ability to
capture and chase away evil spirits. It also symbolises longevity as it is
associated with the resin of the pine tree, as does the shou character,
which is carved at the very heart of the design. The master craftsman
chose to complement the natural golden honey-tone of the amber with
the gilt-bronze borders, exemplifying Qing Imperial opulence.

蓋盒銅胎鎏金，六方形，字母口，盒蓋中央嵌六邊形蜜蠟，上浮雕雲
龍捧壽圖，盒蓋面六邊、蓋壁以及盒壁六面均嵌大小均勻的長方形蜜
蠟，上分別浮雕一萱草螭龍，盒及盒蓋內壁帶明黃色內襯。

此蓋盒製作精良，極為罕見，同類鑲嵌裝飾的蓋盒中，使用銅鎏金胎
並鑲完全使用蜜蠟嵌飾者目前僅此一例。此蓋盒集冶鑄、鏨胎、鑲
嵌、碾磨、雕刻等工藝於一體，展現清宮內務府造辦處在製作宮廷御
用鑲嵌器物上的高超技藝。

蓋盒主體紋飾為「雲龍捧壽」紋，一五爪龍盤旋祥雲間，中間一壽
字，暗示此蓋盒或為皇家祝壽而訂製，參看北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏
一件金胎珊瑚桃式蓋盒，頂部亦雕壽字紋，為乾隆八十大壽而訂做，
見E.S.Rawski與J.Rawson，《China: The Three Emperors 1662-1722》
，倫敦，2005年，頁374，圖294。

蜜蠟與琥珀、金珀同類，都是有機礦物，但因其硬度低、熔點低、性
脆等特性，所以不宜雕作大件器物，多用以雕刻小型工藝品及小擺
設，更可見此蓋盒難得之處。

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