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43. A MAGNIFICENT AND IMPORTANT CARVED RED LACQUER IMPERIAL …
See original version (French)
43
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43. A MAGNIFICENT AND IMPORTANT CARVED RED LACQUER IMPERIAL …
See original version (French)
Estimate €25,000 - €35,000
Voluntary lot
Description
43. A MAGNIFICENT AND IMPORTANT CARVED RED LACQUER IMPERIAL BOX
Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795)
A MAGNIFICENT AND VERY RARE LARGE ARCHAISTIC CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER 'TWELVE IMPERIAL EMBLEMS' GUIBI BOX AND COVER
Four-character Qianlong mark and of the period
Shaped in the form of a large guibi, a pointed rectangular gui tablet and superimposed bi disc, the cover finely and deeply carved through layers of red lacquer, centred on a four-character Qianlong nianzhi mark surrounded by archaistic dragon scrolls within a keyfret border, all on a dense diaper ground, the pointed top with a pair of stylised qilong dragons flanking a single trigram, bordered by a keyfret band and against a dense diaper ground, the lower part similarly decorated with archaistic motifs against a diaper ground and within a keyfret border, finely and intricately carved around the sides with the Twelve Imperial Symbols of Authority (shier zhangwen), including the sun and the moon, a constellation of three stars, the rock or mountain flanked by two trigrams, the axe or hatchet and the figure fu, a pair of confronted dragons and a pheasant, a pair of sacrificial cups containing a tiger and a monkey, waterweed, grain and a flame, all above cresting waves and below auspicious clouds, against a dense diaper ground, the interiors and base lacquered black, the red lacquer with fine marbling.
34 cm (13 3/8 in.) long (2).
清乾隆 剔紅十二章紋圭璧式蓋盒 「乾隆年製」款
This magnificent carved cinnabar lacquer box is in a rare shape more commonly found in jade objects of the Qianlong period as exemplified by a white jade guibi disc in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Jadeware (III), Hong Kong, 1995, p. 160, no. 129 (Fig. 2). Its shape combines two of the most recognisable objects made in early Chinese jade history, namely a circular disc (bi) and a rectangular pointed tablet (gui), both listed among the six important ritual jades in the Zhouli (Rites of Zhou), one of the three classics on rites and etiquette compiled in the latter part of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. The round shape of the jade disc was believed to represent the shape of heaven while also serving as a symbol of rank and wealth. The jade tablet with is pointed tip was similarly perceived as a symbol of rank. The combination of a disc with an appointed blade, known as guibi, was first illustrated in the Guyu tupu, compiled in 1176 by imperial commission, and Jessica Rawson notes that 'no such combination of disc and pointed blade had ever existed', see Jessica Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, London, 1995, pp. 91 and 92, fig. 88.
Under the Qianlong emperor, a renewed interest in ancient practices and values as well as the material past saw the revival and appropriation of archaic shapes, motifs and designs in the decorative arts. This lacquer box is one of the rare examples of lacquerware that combines archaic forms that had been transmitted in printed books and catalogues with unique features that reflect the Qianlong emperor's style and preferences. The Qing imperial collection comprised around twenty thousand examples of carved, painted and incised lacquerware, many of these commissioned by the Qianlong emperor. Few can be called archaistic in terms of form or design. Among them is a carved red and green lacquer box in the same guibi form as the present box (Fig. 1), illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Lacquerware of the Qing Dynasty, vol. 46, Hong Kong, 2006, cat. no. 33. While it is in the same unusual form, this box is smaller in size and decorated with only three of the twelve Imperial Symbols of Authority, namely the three star constellation, the mountain or rock, and the millet grain, all rendered in dark green lacquer against a red diaper ground. The present guibi box cover, however, is decorated with the full set of Twelve Imperial Symbols of Authority (shier zhangwen), symbols of cosmic power, intricately carved and positioned around the sides of the cover. They include the sun and the moon and a constellation of three stars representing heaven, the rock or mountain representing earth, the axe or hatchet and the figure fu, symbols of temporal power, a pair of dragons and a pheasant representing control over the natural world, a pair of sacrificial cups with a tiger and a monkey, waterweed representing water, grain representing wood, and a flame representing fire. According to the Shujing ('Book of History'), the legendary Emperor Shun referred to these symbols as suitable decoration for Imperial formal attire. Under the Qianlong emperor, the Huangchao liqi tushi, (Illustrated Precedents for the Ritual Paraphernalia of the Imperial Court), promulgated that the use of the Twelve Symbols was restricted to the emperor.
Very few pieces of carved cinnabar lacquer carry inscriptions or reign marks that are carved in high relief from lacquer such as on the cover of this box, see, for example, a large carved cinnabar lacquer box and cover in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art decorated with dragons and with the inscription 'in his heart is envisioned a peaceful reign' (accession number John L. Severance Fund 1969.32). The Cleveland box was an imperial commission. It was made in lacquer workshops in Suzhou and was designed to hold the private portraits of the Qianlong emperor, his empress and concubines. The interior of the present guibi box is divided into a central circular compartment flanked by a square compartment on either side. The Archival Records from the Qing Imperial Household Department's Workshops (Qing gong neiwu fu zaobanchu dangan) record several references to a carved red lacquer guibi box, the first noting that the box contained a rosary made of precious chenxiang beads, the others recording a damaged red lacquer guibi box that was sent to the lacquer workshops in Suzhou to be restored. While we do not know what the present guibibox contained, another guibi box made of zitan and similarly decorated with the Twelve Imperial Symbols of Authority, also from the Palace Museum collection in Beijing, contained a circular jade seal paste box (Fig. 3). The superb quality of the carving, the superior craftsmanship, the elaborate design and the subject of the decoration on this specific guibi box and cover, the size and the inscription that dates the box to the Qianlong period all proclaim the imperial pedigree of this magnificent box which was likely to have been made for the Qianlong emperor.
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