AN UNUSUAL CINNABAR LACQUER BOX AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

of rectangular form intricately carved in imitation of bound books with clasps on the side, the shorter sides inlaid with bamboo simulating the pages of the bound volumes and brown-stained bone for the spines of the books, the cover of the box finely carved with a dramatic landscape scene depicting a village nestled amongst rocky mountain peaks and a flowing river below swirling clouds, reserved on a black wan diaper ground, the long sides of the box and cover decorated with flowering sprays of rose, mallow, lotus, narcissus and chrysanthemum, the interiors and base lacquered black 

Christie's Hong Kong, 31st October 2000, lot 1012. 

The present piece is a fine example of the cinnabar lacquer boxes carved in imitation of bound books that were greatly admired by the Qianlong emperor.  A related box but carved with covers simulating floral brocade, is illustrated in Daily Life of a Qing Emperor, Hong Kong, 1984, cat.no. 53.  Two similar lacquer boxes can also be found in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and are illustrated in Sankido and Master Pieces of Chinese Stationary, Tokyo, 1990, p. 24, no. 23, and in Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1985, no. 395.  See also a related box in the Tianjin Museum is illustrated in Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji, vol. 6, Fujian, 1997, no. 221.

A cinnabar lacquer box and cover replicating a bound album with floral designs was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 27th October 2003, lot 784; another sold in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 3901; and a third, with the title-slip Taiping Guangji, ('Extensive Records of the Taiping Era') was offered in these rooms, 8th April 2007, lot 761.