An extremely rare cloisonn?scroll box with three miniature scrolls Qing Dynasty, Qianlong period

the boxes formed to simulate three stacked brocade covered scrolls, one with bright blossoms issuing scrolling stems against a light turquoise ground, another with a similar floral design against a dark blue ground, and a third with a coin diaper of lime-green and dark blue, each with a scroll handle pulling out to reveal a small drawer containing an actual painted handscroll, one of a small village by a lake against a mountainous landscape by Fang Cong, the second with a lengthy inscription in running script by Dong Gao, and the last with four scholars conversing in a forest by Xie Xun

Scroll boxes in the form of either three or five stacked scrolls were made in a variety of materials and demonstrate the importance given to packaging during the Qianlong reign. These were usually placed on a matching album box which suggests that the present box may be missing the accompanying album and album box. Compare for example a carved cinnabar lacquer scroll box with matching album box in the Palace Museum Beijing containing paintings by Yang Dazhang, as well as a zitan and ivory scroll box also in the Palace Museum Beijing, both exhibited in the Macau Museum of Art and illustrated in Qing Legacies ¡V The Sumptuous Art of Imperial Packaging, The Macau Museum of Art, Macau, 2000, cat.no. 2 and 3. The scroll boxes sometimes fitted in larger treasure boxes, not only containing paintings, but all sorts of curios such as archaic jades, miniature porcelains, cloisonne or wood carvings.

The paintings were usually by well-known court painters. The present box includes three paintings, all three by court painters known to be active during the reign of Qianlong. One is a landscape by Fang Cong, another a figure painting of a gathering of four scholars by Xie Xun, the last a calligraphy in running script by Dong Gao.

Fang Cong was a native of Zhejiang province. As a student of Zhang Zongcang, he worked as a court painter in the Qing palace workshops and is particularly known for his landscape paintings.

Xie Xun was an artist in the Qing Court during the reign of Qianlong. He is particularly known for his paintings of figures, many of which are still in the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum.

Dong Gao (1740-1818), was an artist from Fuyang of Zhejiang province. As the son of the court painter Dong Bangda, he grew up in the Qing court where he studied to become an official and specialised in poetry and in classical Chinese. In 1763, he obtained the rank of chuan lu at the head of the second class in the Hanlin examinations, and is best known for his calligraphy.