QIANLONG (1736-95)

The design on the interior and the base of these boxes was a popular one. The depiction of prunus blossoms against a background of cracked ice was associated with the New Year, since the appearance of prunus flowers and cracks in the ice was seen as a harbinger of Spring. The design can be seen on a Kangxi cloisonné altar set, comprising a censer, a pair of candlesticks and a pair a vases, in the National Palace Museum (see Enamel Ware in the Ming and Ch'ing Dynasties, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1999, pp. 97-100, no. 26-8). The Kangxi version of the design only has prunus flowers and although the flowers are different colours, the petals of each individual flower are restricted to a single colour. Colour changes within the petals of a flower, as well as the use of several different types of relatively small flower heads, as used on the current boxes, can be seen on a Qianlong bottle vase decorated with flowers and butterflies in the National Palace Museum (ibid., p. 100, no. 97).

Overall scrolling designs of flowers and leaves, like that on the exterior of the boxes, appear in many different forms on cloisonné enamels. The delicate version on these boxes provides a subtle contrast with the cracked ice design of the interior and base, while retaining an overall visual harmony. A similar floral scroll can be seen on a small censer in the Uldry Collection (see H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinesisches Cloisonné - Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 1985, no. 297).