An extremely rare chenxiangmu 'nine-dragon' vessel and cover, fangyi, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 沉香木雕九龍紋方彜 木座「乙」字

Expertly carved in high relief following the natural contours of the wood grain and smoothed to a shine over centuries of treasured ownership, this piece belongs to an exceptionally rare group of Qing dynasty wood carvings. 

Ruling at the height of the Qing dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor was a passionate advocate for artistic creativity and innovation. Aside from inventing new forms and designs, Qianlong was also a committed antiquarian and regularly commissioned the production of archaistic vessels inspired by famed vessels and motifs from China’s ancient past. The present vessel, sitting atop four legs with a peaked pyramid cover, is clearly inspired by archaic fangyi vessels of similar shape. However, despite its ancient origins, this vessel exudes a captivating sense of dynamism, featuring nine swirling dragons writhing among the clouds. 

 See a closely related example of a chenxiangmu archaistic gong wine vessel carved with dragon and phoenix, Mark and period of Qianlong, which is documented to have been commissioned by the Qianlong emperor himself for placement in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, see The All Complete Qianlong: the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong, Taipei, 2013, no. II-3.14. The form and decoration of this vessel clearly draw inspiration from Western Han dynasty jade wine vessels from the Qing court collection.

方彜以沉香木為材，施高浮雕及透雕技法，依循材料自然紋理，雕雲遊九龍，氣勢蓬勃。其深褐色器表，歷經久藏，自然形成瑩潤光亮皮殼，自有一番古意。整器構圖立體，錯落有致，九龍分佈於器身及蓋，穿雲過霧，虛實相間，巧奪天工。器型仿製上古青銅方彜，結合靈動紋飾，是一件動態協調又相當有份量的宮廷陳設器。

乾隆盛世，清高宗乾隆帝得天獨厚坐擁豐富的皇室收藏，加之其深厚的人文素養，極大的影響了他的藝術品味。乾隆皇帝好古敏求，親自主導且控管宮廷文物的製作，「仿古」則是乾隆皇帝傳遞其藝術品味最主要和直接的方式。清宮有大量以異材製作，但形式上複製高古彝器的作品。乾隆皇帝以此表達他對仿製對象的喜愛，以及超越先古的雄心。參看清宮舊藏一件清乾隆茄楠木雕螭虎龍尾觥，器形仿製西漢角形玉杯之形制與紋飾雕製而成，據錄曾入乾清宮收藏，是重要的清宮仿古陳設器，見《十全乾隆：清高宗的藝術品味》，台北，2013年，編號II-3.14。

沉香之形成，是瑞香科樹木經過刀傷、蟲蛀或細菌感染傷口所分泌的樹脂，經過長時間結節而成。因結香特殊，香氣高雅，除在生活、醫學方面使用之外，乃佛教儀式中焚香之上品。明清以來，沉香深受宮廷喜愛，也發展出多樣化的使用方式，更以其雕做各種精緻陳設，而沉香大件器物尤為難得。沉香也更被宮廷視為奇珍異料，如乾隆五十四年（1789年）就有記載「暹羅國王遣使祝壽進貢沉香二十斤」，可知清宮對沉香需求之大。