Lot 2863. A superbly carved cinnabar lacquer ‘chun’ box and cover, Qianlong mark and period (1736-1795); 38,5 cm, 14 1/8 in. Estimate 5,000,000 — 7,000,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's 2008.

 the cover superbly carved in deep layers of varying relief through four layers of colour, the top surface carved with a large chun ('spring') character rising above a bowl filled with auspicious emblems, reserved against red, green and yellow radiating waves, the character centred around a small medallion enclosing Shoulao seated under a pine tree with his deer, flanked by a pair of ferocious dragons writhing amids flames and cloud swirls, all reversed on a wan diaper ground, surrounded by four panels each vividly depicting different scenes with scholars and boys engaged in leisurely pursuits in landscape scenes filled with lush vegetation and rockwork, divided by four of the 'babao', the box similarly decorated with panels enclosing four scenes and divided by four emblems completing the 'babao', the interior and base lacquered black, inscribed in gilt on the base with the six-character reign mark followed by the characters Chunshou Baohe ('Precious Spring Longevity Box'). 

Note:  This box is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding examples of 'Chunshou Baohe' ('Precious Spring Longevity Box') containers made during the Qianlong period. Originally in the collection of the prestigious Manno Art Museum, Osaka, the meticulous and naturalistic carving of the popular design of a large chun (spring) character rising out from a bowl overflowing with treasures and radiating rainbows, is closely comparable with the finest quality boxes preserved, such as the piece in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji, vol. 8, Beijing, 1989, pl. 172; or the container in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the museum's Special Exhibition of Palace Lacquer Objects, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1981, cat.no. 67. The detailed and deep carving of the figures in the panels decorating the side of the box are especially worth noting. The motif is carved through several thin layers of lacquer which gives it an eye catching, three-dimensional quality that can be seen only on the most outstanding carvings of the period.     
 
The Qianlong box in its form and carved motif closely follows the Jiajing prototype. An example of a Jiajing mark and period container was included in the National Palace Museum exhibition ibid., cat.no. 37. The Jiajing emperor was a devoted Daoist and was in constant search of the secret of immortality. The chun (spring) character represents a wish for 'ten-thousand longevities and eternal spring' (wanshou changchun) from which the box takes its name chunshou baohe. Bao (treasure or precious things) refers to the contents of the bowl that is the Chinese equivalent of a horn of plenty. Instead of the array of fruit and vegetables, the Chinese bowl is filled with gold and silver coins, ingots, gems, coral, pearls and other precious materials. Spring also represents renewal and the beginning of the New Year, hence boxes of this type were designed to convey the sentiment of longevity and renewal of life and were used during the Spring Festival or the Chinese New Year.

The Qianlong emperor much admired the Jiajing boxes and ordered many copies to be made by his court carvers with the name of the box inscribed on the piece. For further examples see a box included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1993, cat.no. 76; another from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pl. 90; and a third example sold at Christie's New York, 21st September 2004, lot 84. 

Sotheby's. Splendours of the Qing Court, Hong Kong , 11th April 2008