Lot 80. A well carved cinnabar lacquer lobed box and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 32.3 cm, 12 3/4  in. Estimate 20,000 - 30,000 GBP. Lot sold 35,000 GBP (45,224 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

of quatrefoil form, the cover finely carved with Magu and her acolytes preparing a celebration amidst an idyllic mountainous landscape detailed with an overhanging pine tree, pavilion and two recumbent deer, with further acolytes travelling across the swirling waves on a shaft with a peach, the sides with cartouches of floral blooms and leaves divided by the bajixiang emblems, all reserved against diaper grounds, the interiors and base lacquered black.

Note: A polychrome lacquer box of similar shape, carved to the top with bats, cranes and peaches, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Gugong Bowuyuan Cang Diaoqi/Carved Lacquer In The Collection Of The Palace Museum, Beijing, 1995, pl. 328. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, London, 15 may 2019