A RARE PAIR OF POLYCHROME LACQUER SCHOLAR'S STATIONERY BOXES
THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN COLLECTOR
A RARE PAIR OF POLYCHROME LACQUER SCHOLAR'S STATIONERY BOXES

Details
A RARE PAIR OF POLYCHROME LACQUER SCHOLAR'S STATIONERY BOXES
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Each rectangular box superbly carved through thick layers of cinnabar-red, brown, yellow and green lacquer on the sides and top with scholars in balustraded gardens and travellers in detailed landscapes, the perspectives of near and far distances and water differentiated by variously carved polychrome diaper grounds, the panels divided by scroll borders, the top panel attached with a brass loop handle and one side panel as a hinged door, opening to reveal three drawers with diaper-ground front panels, the interiors lacquered black (minor repairs)
8 x 8 1/2 x 12 in. (20.3 x 21.6 x 30.5 cm.) (2)

Lot Essay

The details on the present pair of boxes are exquisitely rendered, the different tones of lacquer employed on the various decorative elements of each panel, giving an unusually fine quality of depth. For example, on one panel, a scholar sits in a pavilion, gazing towards a lotus pond, where the large blooms are carved from cinnabar-red lacquer, the leaves in green and yellow lacquer, and the rocks in brown lacquer.

The subject of scholars on carved lacquerware date back to the Yuan and early Ming dynasties, and the style of decoration on the present lot is very closely related to the carved boxes, trays and dishes from that period. Among the earlier prototypes are a variety of boxes and dishes from the Yongle and Xuande reigns, illustrated in Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji, pls. 17, 19-21, 23, 28, 31, 32 and 45; the Yongle-marked square dish in the present sale, lot 585 (?); and a Yuan dynasty floral rim dish illustrated by Hu Shih-chang, Chinese Lacquer, National Museums of Scotland, 1998, pl. 11.

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