Boîte en placage de bambou Chine, dynastie Qing, époque Qianlong (1736-1795)

à six lobes, le dessus du couvercle très finement ciselé d'une rosace au centre d'une frise de ruyi stylisés et rinceaux feuillagés, la bordure sculptée de pétales, les côtés de la boîte de motifs archaïsants, la base légèrement en retrait, le bambou d'une chaleureuse teinte caramel ambrée avec une belle patine d'âge, posé sur un socle original en kesi bleu et jaune brodé de fleurs  

The inner rim extensively chipped, a few age cracks, otherwise in good condition. The kesi stand is in good condition. The actual colour of the box is a fraction more brown and less orangey red than the illustration would suggest in the catalogue.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This box is a good example of the dexterity of craftsmen in numerous media active during the Qianlong period. The wooden box has been expertly veneered with pieces of bamboo skin of two tones to complement the elegant design, which appears to have been influenced by European decorative scrolls. Compare a related five-lobed box decorated with a similar composition on the cover, but which retains the traditional Chinese ruyi motif and with shaped panels on the sides, from the Simon Kwan Collection, included in the exhibition Ming and Qing Bamboo, University Museum and Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 2000, cat. no. 86. For further bamboo veneer boxes, see a jade, coral and ivory-inlaid petal-lobed example sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26^th April 2004, lot 979; a lobed rectangular box illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji, Beijing, 1987, pl. 63; and a slightly later example of irregular form, in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, published in Ip Yee and Laurence C.S.Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, pt. II, Hong Kong, 1982, pl. 62.