AN IVORY 'QUAIL' BOX AND COVER QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD |

naturalistically modelled seated with its legs tucked underneath its plump body, the upper half of the body forming the cover perfectly fitted along the scalloped edges on the box, its head turned to one side and detailed with rounded eyes and a short beak, the body carved with plumage and the claws with fine stippling, all supported on leafy millet stems around the legs and claws, the interior hollowed with a double-gourd-shaped aperture, wood stand

A private collection, acquired in London prior to 1990.

Another ivory box and cover carved in the form of a quail, from the Qing Court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carving, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 167. See also another ivory quail box sold in these rooms, 3rd April 2018, lot 3641, and a pair of similar carved ivory 'quail' boxes and covers sold in our London rooms, 10th November 2010, lot 12.