Page 75 - Scholarly Works of Art Hong Kong Sothebys March 3 2019

During the Qianlong Emperor’s reign, great attention was
paid not only to the manufacture of artefacts but also to
the packaging and protection of the Emperor’s treasures
and paraphernalia. According to the Qing archives, the
Emperor himself often inspected the packaging and it
was not uncommon for the Emperor to modify the plans
submitted to him before approving the Palace Workshop
(Zaobanchu), which operated under the command of the
Imperial Household Department (Neiwufu), to proceed
with the production, which was sometimes sent to be
executed in South China. Under such rigorous standards and
expectations, objects made under the auspices of the Palace
Workshop highly reflect the Emperor’s artistic taste and
demand – as well as the supremacy of imperial authority.
Superbly carved with a pair of dragons soaring sinuously
and flanking a sheng medallion, the current zitan box and
cover, which may have been used to store writing paper or
imperial documents, encapsulate the imperial splendour
of the Qianlong reign and the Emperor’s utmost attention
to detail. In addition to the employment of the five-clawed
dragon motif, the ultimate symbol of the Emperor’s mandate
and supremacy, the choice of zitan, which was the Qianlong
Emperor’s favoured wood type – and of which use was
closely monitored to avoid any waste – is also a testament to
the importance of the present box and cover.
The design on the cover is extremely rare and no identical
example appears to be recorded but there are notable
similarities in the workmanship and design with a zitan box
and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in the
exhibition catalogue Qing Legacies: The Sumptuous Art
of Imperial Packaging, The Macau Museum of Art, Macau,
2000, cat. no. 29. The box and cover in the Palace Museum,
which houses six ink cake boxes and covers, is similarly
carved on the cover with a pair of dragons sinuously soaring
against ruyi clouds but is centred with a cartouche enclosing
an inscription reading Xing chi shi gu (Archaistic Star Pond)
and further decorated with jagged rockwork and crashing
waves.

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