Page 128 - Chinese Art Auction April 25, 2020 2020 Galerie Zacke

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AN IMPeRIAl ‘clOuds ANd dRAgON’ cINNAbAR
lAcQueR bOX, QIANlONg MARK ANd PeRIOd
China, between 1771 and 1775. Of quadrilobed form with the cover
deftly carved through layers of rich red lacquer with a cartouche
enclosing two dragons soaring around a central ‘flaming pearl’ against Literature comparison: Qianlong mark and period boxes with a yunlong
a dense ground of tumultuous waves, bordered by a key fret band. baohe mark include one circular box in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
The three-dimensional effect and sense of movement was achieved illustrated in Gugong bowuyuan cang diaoqi/ Carved Lacquer in the
through precise knifework and expert execution. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pl. 316; another from the
Florence and Herbert Irving collection, in the Metropolitan Museum of
Provenance: From a German private collection. Acquired before 1930 Art, New york, included in the exhibition East Asian Lacquer, Metropolitan
and thence by descent to the present owner. The family lived in the Museum of Art, New york, 1991, cat. no. 43, where it is noted that the
border town of Gangelt, one of the first German villages invaded by mark “probably corresponded to the entry for the box in the inventory of
British and American troops in 1944. The house was situated between articles in the imperial household”, p. 108; a cylindrical box, in the National
front lines and suffered from heavy fire for Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh, illustrated in Hu Shih-chang and Jade
several months, the family was evacuated Wilkinson, Chinese Lacquer, Edinburgh, 1998, pl. 30.
to Holland during this period. When they
came back in spring 1945, the house AucTION ResulT cOMPARIsON
was significantly damaged and most of Compare with a related but significantly
its contents destroyed. Miraculously, the smaller box bearing the same inscription
present box survived with only very little at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in roger Keverne
damage. For this reason, it was kept and - 50 years in the Trade, 05 October 2016,
safeguarded as a good luck charm in the A British tank in Gangelt, lot 6, sold for HKD $625,000 and another,
Germany, November 1944.
family ever since. circular example, also significantly smaller
condition: Absolutely original condition with some cracks and losses, than the present lot, at Bonham’s Hong
all well visible on the detail images at www.zacke.at. Kong in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works
of Art, 3 Dez 2015, lot 32, sold for HKD
Weight: 1,087.4 g $900,000.
Dimensions: Length 32 cm
Each side decorated with budding and flowering blossoms above further 御制雲龍剔紅蓋盒，乾隆款與年代
waves, the edges with key-fret bands repeated at the rim skirting the 中國，1771 至1775間。呈四葉形，盒蓋巧妙地剔紅雕刻花紋與雙龍戲珠龍。波濤滾
foot of the box, the interior lacquered black, the cover gilt-incised with an 滾。刀工精湛。
inscription reading Yunlong baohe (‘clouds and dragon treasure box’), the 來源：德國私人收藏。購於1930前，自此保存至今。這個家族當時居住在邊境小鎮甘
base with the six-character reign mark. 格爾特（Gangelt），這是1944年英美軍隊入侵的首批德國村莊之一。房子位於前
線之間，遭受大火數月之久，在此期間全家被疏散到荷蘭 。 當他們1945年春季回來
Notable for its meticulous carving and carefully composed designs of two 時，房屋已遭到嚴重破壞，大部分物品被毀。 奇蹟般地，目前的盒子倖存下來，只
ferocious scaly dragons against a ground of tumultuous waves, this box 有很小的損壞。 因此，從那時起，它一直作為家庭的好運而被保存和維護。
品相：絕對原始品相，一些開裂和缺損，細圖可見www.zacke.at。
belongs to an important group of boxes made during the Qianlong reign. 重量：1,087.4 克
According to the Zaobanchu Archives of the Qing Imperial Household 尺寸：長32 厘米
Department, between 1771 and 1775 the Qianlong Emperor ordered the 拍賣結果比較：一件相似蓋盒2015年12月3日于香港邦翰思《中國陶瓷和工藝品》拍
Palace Workshops to produce carved lacquer treasure boxes with specific 號32，成交價HKD $900.000.
designs, and their name inscribed on each box (see Yang Yong, ‘A Research
of Lacquerware Inscriptions from Qianlong reign’, Journal of National estimate euR 10.000,-
Museum of China, no. 6, 2003, p. 680). Starting price EUr 5.000,-

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