Lot 48. A carved cinnabar lacquer box and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period (1736-1795); 20cm., 7 7/8 in. Estimate 30,000 — 50,000 GBP. Lot sold 37,500 GBP. © Sotheby's

finely carved in imitation of bound books fastened with clasps at the sides, the shorter sides of the box overlaid with bone to simulate the pages of the books carried within, the remaining sides intricately carved in imitation of brocade with roundels enclosing flowers and fruit, all reserved on a floral diaper ground, the interior and base lacquered black.

Provenance: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 23rd October 2005, lot 390.

Note: 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 bound albums. The carved bone lining the sides of the box has been delicately carved with horizontal lines to resemble the paper pages, while the ball-flowers that decorate the top are reminiscent of textile designs. A closely related box is illustrated in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, pl. 395; one in the Tianjin Museum, Tianjin, is published in Zhongguo qiqi quanji, vol. 6, Fuzhou, 1993, pl. 221; another was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 784; and a fourth example, in the shape of two books, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 52.

Boxes simulating bound books were produced in a variety of media; for example see two cloisonné enamel three-tiered boxes sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, the first, 28th November 2005, lot 1500, and the second, 1st December 2010, lot 3180A, from the collection of Dr Zhang En Hong, the personal physician to Emperor Puyi (1942-1967); two small wooden boxes sold at Christie’s New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1279; and a porcelain box in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics. Qing, vol. 15, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 51.

The design of ball-flowers is unique in its severe abstraction and appears to have been inspired by the Japanese heraldic family symbols, mon. The Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors are known to have been greatly interested in Japanese works of art and to have commissioned reproductions in various media. See a revolving vase with a related design, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum’s exhibition Stunning Decorative Porcelains from the Ch’ien-lung Reign, Taipei, 2008, pl. 76.