QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A VERY RARE LARGE CARVED RED AND BLACK LACQUER PEACH-FORM 'SHOU’ BOX AND COVER
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The top of the cover is finely carved with a panel of conforming peach shape and is deeply carved on a diaper ground with a bowl containing auspicious emblems and a shou medallion flanked by two wan symbols beneath a ruyi-shaped panel containing a scene of Shoulao flying on a crane above the Eight Immortals, Liu Hai, and another immortal, possibly Dongfang Shuo, shown riding on a bat, all enclosed by a border of bats and clouds beneath a pair of confronting fish. The sides of the cover and the box are carved with a key-fret border at the rims and two rows of sixty permutations of the shou character on a leiwen ground. The interior and base are lacquered black.
17 1/8 in. (43.4 cm.) wide

Provenance

Royal Phoenix, New York, 1986.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

asianartny@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The highly auspicious decoration – the peach shape of the box, Shoulao and his crane, the twin fish, and the border of bats and stylized shou characters – are symbolic of longevity, good fortune, and happiness. The overall imagery conveyed is one that would suggest this box was made to commemorate a special birthday celebration, possibly commissioned by or for the emperor.
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A pair of peach-form lacquer boxes carved with a more commonly seen design of a chun (Spring) character flanked by dragons above a bowl filled with auspicious objects, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2022, lot 2899.

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