Page 36 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art London May 2018

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PROPERTY FROM AN ASIAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Although a number of lacquer boxes imitating bound albums
A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER AND are known, the present box is unique for its Da Qing Qianlong
SANDALWOOD BOX AND COVER yuzhi reign mark carved on the central panel, which designates
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND PERIOD its use exclusively for the Qianlong Emperor. Boxes of this
type, but lacking a reign mark, include one in the shape of
fashioned in the form of a book and deftly carved in relief, the two stacked books, from in the Qing Court collection and still
upper surface with four prunus roundels on a diaper ground in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures
centred with a vertical rectangular panel of leiwen, surmounted of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty,
with a six-character seal mark, the sides simulating individual Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 52; one decorated with shou and
pages, the interior lacquered black chilong roundels, in the Tianjin Museum, Tianjin, published in
(2) Zhongguo qiqi quanji, vol. 6, Fuzhou, 1993, pl. 221; and a third
16.5 cm, 6½ in. example carved with additional roundels enclosing ß owers and
rd
fruits on the cover, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 23 October
PROVENANCE 2005, lot 390, and again in these rooms, 14 May 2014, lot 48.
th
Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 784.
The design of ball-ß owers is unique in its severe abstraction
The Qianlong Emperor’s (r. 1736-1795) taste for the novel and appears to have been inspired by the Japanese heraldic
fuelled craftsmen to experiment with manipulating materials family symbols, mon. The Yongzheng (r. 1723-1735) and
to simulate other mediums. These artisans perfected their Qianlong emperors are known to have been interested in
skills to create a wide variety of trompe l’oeil pieces, such as Japanese works of art and commissioned reproductions in
porcelain made to imitate stone, wood, bronze, or lacquer to various media. See a revolving vase with a related design,
imitate bound albums as seen on the present piece. Delicately with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the National Palace
carved sandalwood lines the sides of the box to simulate Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Stunning
the paper pages, while the rich design of ball-ß owers are Decorative Porcelains from the Ch’ien-lung Reign, Taipei, 2008,
reminiscent of textile designs. pl. 76.
಴ £ 50,000-70,000
HK$ 555,000-775,000 US$ 70,500-98,500
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34 SOTHEBY’S