CHINE, DYNASTIE QING, EPOQUE QIANLONG (1736-1795)

The Qianlong Emperor’s taste for the novel fuelled craftsmen to experiment with manipulating materials to simulate other materials. These artisans perfected their skills to create a wide variety of trompe l’oeil pieces, such as porcelain made to imitate stone, bronze, lacquer, or as seen with the present piece, lacquer to imitate a pile of manuscripts. The sides of this current lacquer box has been delicately painted with horizontal lines to resemble the paper pages, while the ball-flowers that decorate the top are reminiscent of textile designs.

A polychrome lacquer box with ivory simulating the edges of the pages, was included in the exhibition, Daily Life of the Qing Emperor, illustrated in the Catalogue, Hong Kong, 1994, no. 53. Two other boxes are from the Palace Museum, Beijing, the first illustrated in Sankido and Master Pieces of Chinese Stationary, Tokyo, 1990, p. 24; and the other is published in the Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, no. 395. Also see a two-colour lacquer 'book' box and cover sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 31 October 2000, lot 1012 ; another closely related box bearing a Qianlong Yuzhi mark, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 27 October 2003, lot 784 ; and a Qianlong red lacquer box with 'ball-flower' design, sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23 October 2005, lot 390.