A RARE IMPERIAL SILVER-FILIGREE MALLOW-SHAPED 'PHOENIX AND LOTUS' BOX AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

exquisitely modelled in the form of a mallow bloom with sides divided into eight bracket foliations and decorated in openwork filigree designs, the top of the cover with a sloping border rendered as eight petals, each with a cartouche enclosing floral sprigs, rising up to a flat mallow-form panel with a thin border decorated with ruyi-shaped cartouches enclosing the anbaxian emblems, all encircling a medallion with a pair of phoenix soaring with long billowing tails and flanking lotus scrolls, the straight sides with a frieze of eight upright ruyi blooms, the box of corresponding form with a frieze of eight pendent ruyi blooms, above a sloping border decorated with further ruyi blooms above a straight footrim with a galleried footring, the footim detailed with two rows of dense scrollwork, the base centred with a large floral blossom, the details all densely adorned with intricate undulating scrollwork

The delicate box and cover have been very well preserved. A minute area of the metal liner has become loose. Other general surface wear and bruising, including a minute chip to the foot.
"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."

See a comparable gold filigree box of the similar size and form, but decorated on the cover with a pair of dragons flanking a 'flaming pearl', from the Qing Court collection, exhibited in A Garland of Treasures: Masterpieces of Precious Crafts in the Museum Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, cat. no. II-68.