A rare cinnabar lacquer jar. Mark and period of Qianlong

of compressed globular form with an incurved mouth, the lateritious red lacquer deeply carved on the exterior with a fine continuous landscape of ladies and boys in an enclosed palatial garden, the ladies enjoying themselves in a leisurely fashion, while servants carrying trays and other offerings scurry around, all set between a band of carved lotus flowers around the mouth, with interlinked bats just below and upright lotus petals skirting the foot, the shoulders set with a pair of gilt-bronze fu lions clutching spinach-green loose ring handles, the shoulders further carved with a three-character mark in Chinese on one side and in Manchu script on the other side reading 'Yang Xin Dian' (Hall of Mental Cultivation), the base cast in the gilt-copper body with a six-character Qianlong mark - width across handles 39.5cm., 15 1/2 in. - Lot Sold: 3,980,000 HKD

NOTE: The present exquisitely designed and crafted jar represents the finest in Imperial Qing lacquerware. Only two other comparable example appears to be recorded, one in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in Hai-Wai-Yi-Chen: Chinese Art in Overseas Collections, Lacquerware, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1987, cat. no. 162; and the jar sold at Christie's London, 11th December 1989, lot 272. The Christie's jar is of the same size and globular form but is carved with a continuous scene of Daoist Immortals on terraces and in pavilions by a sea. The style of carving is very similar to this jar indicating that it was possibly made by the same hand. Its shoulders are also set with a pair of gilt-bronze lion-masks clutching spinach-green jade ring handles but the base is cast with a mandorla inscribed in a Tibetan script. It also has a five-character mark Qianlong Zaobanchu (Qianlong Imperial Household Workshops) carved around the rim. The close similarity between the two jars suggest that they were made to complement each other, one with the name of where the vessel was made and the other with the name of its location in the palace.

This jar is remarkable for the intricate and carefully layered design of court ladies, boys and complex architectural buildings and pavilions. This subject matter was highly favoured for the material, as the skill and technique of the carver can be displayed to its best effect. The fine diaper-ground patterns not only serve as decorative elements but help in separating the different areas of the scenery. Although figural scenes are readily found on lacquer boxes, dishes, screens and brushpots, it is rare to find them on larger vessels such as jars and vases. For examples of wares carved with figural themes, see a circular box carved with boys at play illustrated in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pl. 291; and another box, from the Collection of a Parisian Collector, sold in these rooms, 8th April, 2007, lot 518. See also a Qianlong period lacquer screen finely carved with the scene of Wang Xizhi's Orchid Pavilion gathering, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published ibid., pl. 373; and another panel illustrating the same Lanting xu scene sold in our New York rooms, 22nd March 1995, lot 423, and again in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 364.

Lacquer vessels that incorporate different types of materials are also rare, although a hu form vase carved in red and black lacquer decorated with two bronze handles cast as stag heads, with metal-lined interior and base with a Qianlong mark written in Manchu script dating the vessel to AD1743, was sold at Christie's New York, 21st September 2004, lot 83.

The present jar is carved with a scene from one of the oldest paintings still in existence on the theme Spring Morning in the Han Palace by Ming dynasty painter Qiu Ying (1494-1552). Qiu's painting was inspired by the story of Lang Wang Zhaojun of the Han dynasty. According to the Han legend, Lady Wang married a chieftain of a barbarian tribe in order to end the violence on the Han kingdom. The marriage brought peace to the kingdom's borders and the barbarians quickly came under the influence of Chinese culture. Qiu's painting evoked the glorious past and was frequently reproduced during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Spring Morning in the Han Palace became the general theme on women and children in garden and pavilion settings. The Spring Morning in the Han Palace scene was frequently painted on coromandel lacquer screens; for example, see the famous screen dated to AD1672, in the Kangxi period, in the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., illustrated in W. de Kesel and G. Dhont, Coromandel Lacquer Screens, Gent, 2002, ill. 31. However, it is rare to find it carved on lacquer pieces, possibly due to the highly complex nature of the design that includes various architectural elements and a large number of figures involved in a myriad of activities. To transfer this composite painting onto a three-dimensional surface required the work of the most accomplished and exceptional carvers in the palace.

The jar is inscribed with the hall name Yanggxindian (Hall of Mental Cultivation), a hall located in the Nei Ting (Inner Palace) of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Yangxindian was constructed in 1537 and is divided into two front and rear halls. The first emperor of the Qing dynasty, Shunzhi (r. 1644-1661) died in the Yangxindian. During the reign of the Kangxi emperor (r. 1662-1722) the hall was converted into the Imperial Household Workshops (Zaobanchu) where manufacture of all necessities for the emperor and his family was carried out. It was from the reign of Kangxi's son, the Yongzheng emperor (r. 1723-1735), that Yangxindian became one of the most important buildings in the Palace compound. Starting with his reign, all Qing emperors resided here, conducted their state affairs and held private audiences. The Emperor's throne was located in the front chamber of the hall where state affairs were handled. The Western chamber served as the Emperor's study and where he held private audiences with his ministers and high officials. The rear of the hall is divided into five bedrooms, the largest central bedroom was used by the Emperor and the four neighbouring bedrooms by the Empress and concubines. During the reigns of Tongzhi (r. 1862-1874) and Guangxu (r. 1875-1908), Empress Dowager Cixi held audiences in the Eastern chamber of Yangxindian, thereby starting a political custom called 'power behind the throne' or 'holding court behind the curtain'.

Apart from the use of precious materials such as jade and bronze, in its form this jar also evokes the past. It is shaped after archaic bronze yu with handles;, for example see a yu excavated from the middle Western Zhou tomb at Qucun, Quwo county, Shanxi province, and now in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Art and Archaeology, Beijing, included in the exhibition Treasures from a Swallow Garden, Beijing University Art Museum, Beijing, 1992, cat. no. 95.

The handles of this jar are also the product of the Zaobanchu. While the Palace Workshops are celebrated mainly for their art objects, they made a wide range of products of the highest quality in many different materials and for many different functions. See a pair of silver taotie mask handles inscribed with the mark Qianlong Zaobanchu sold in these rooms, 27th April 2003, lot 34.

Sotheby's. Legacies of Imperial Power: Treasures from the Imperial Collection. 08 Oct 08. Hong Kong - www.sotheby's.com - Photos Courtesy Sotheby's