QIANLONG SIX-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

The current box is exceptionally large and well carved, as can be seen from the elaborate scene, thick layers of lacquer and meticulous details. It belongs to a rare group of large lobed boxes of similar form and design, all decorated with a shaped central panel with a landscape scene, enclosed by eight cartouches enclosing flowers and rocks, dating to the mid-Qing dynasty. One example is carved with a scene of boys at play in the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, no. 156 (fig. 1). Another example is decorated with figures in a landscape in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji, vol. 6 – Qing, Fujian, 1993, no. 224 (fig. 2). Compare also to a very similar example decorated with immortals in a landscape, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 November 2007, lot 1796, and another one depicting a scene of boys at play sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1699.