CHINA, QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

The dragon is an ancient symbol, and the five-clawed dragon is the symbol of imperial power, and as such is a pre-dominant decorative motif in China. The horned five-clawed dragon, long, is considered the most powerful species of dragon, one of the four divine animals, and is a bringer of rain and also symbolizes fertility. On the center of the present box, three five-clawed dragons with horns and scaly bodies contest a flaming pearl against a dense ground of wind-tossed waves. Very similar decoration can be seen on a pair of quadrilobed (begonia-shaped) boxes in the Tianjin Art Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji, vol. 6, Beijing, 1993, p. 186, pl. 222, and another pair of quadrilobed boxes sold at Christie's, Hong Kong 30 May 2005, lot 1346. Compare, also, two circular boxes carved with similar decoration of dragons amidst waves illustrated in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pls. 310 and 311.