A LARGE FINELY CARVED POLYCHROME LACQUER ‘CHUN’ BOX AND COVER QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD

the cover finely and deeply carved through red, green, black and yellow layers with a circular panel enclosing the character chun (spring) centred with a medallion enclosing Shoulao and rising above a large bowl overflowing with auspicious emblems, reserved against red, green, brown and yellow radiating waves, all flanked by a pair of five-clawed scaly dragons amidst ruyi-head cloud scrolls and reserved on a wan-diaper ground, the rounded sides of the cover and box deeply carved with the bajixiang  and lobed cartouches centred with shou characters and flanked with bats on a dense ground of leafy lotus sprays, the interior and base lacquered black, the base gilt-inscribed with a six-character reign mark followed by a four-character inscription reading chunshou baohe ('precious box of spring and longevity’)

This box is in reasonably good condition, but there are some minor restorations including relaquering to the conch shell, the parasol and the wheel and the shou character to the exterior of the box and the outline of the Chun character to the cover. There are some cracks to the lacquer to the sides and edges of the cover and some cracking to the black lacquer to the interior, as well as some small chips to the lacquer to the interior rim of the cover. There is some re-lacquering to the rims and some minor scratches and wear to the footrim.
"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."

Finely crafted with a carefully composed auspicious design, the present vessel belongs to a group of boxes produced at the height of lacquer carving during the Qianlong period (r. 1736-1795).  Layer upon layer of lacquer has been patiently applied to build up a thick surface through which the craftsman has meticulously carved a plethora of textures of the different elements of the complex design, from the delicate softness of the petals and clouds, the naturalistic full central figure of Shoulao and the sway of his clothes, and the fine array of diaper patterns covering the ground. The artisan's virtuosity is further displayed through the compositional complexity and the variety of depths and angles from which the design emerges with vibrancy.  According to the Zaobanchu Archives of the Qing Imperial Household Department, in the 11th month of the 8th year of the Qianlong reign (corresponding to 1743), four boxes of this type were presented to the Emperor, who ordered that they be inscribed with the four-character chunshou baohe ('precious box of spring and longevity') mark. The boxes were presented again and approved by the Emperor on the 27th day of the same month.

Although it is known that there were at least eighteen versions of chun boxes made during the Qianlong period, the present example is distinctive for the shou characters in the cartouches around the sides and no other closely related example appears to have been published. Boxes of this type, also inscribed with chunshou baohe on the base, but with figures in the side panels, include one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Museum's Special Exhibition of Palace Lacquer Objects, Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 67; one from the Manno Art Museum, Osaka, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28^th October 2002, lot 568, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 11^th April 2008, lot 2863; another exhibited in 2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer, Art Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, cat. no. 76; and a larger example from the Avery Brundage Collection in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pl. 90. Another variation of circular chun boxes, carved with various flowers within the side cartouches, illustrated in Derek Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, London 1992, pls 106a and 106b, was sold at Christie’s New York, 30^th March 2005, lot 166; and another was sold at Christie’s London, 14^th June 1982, lot 194.

The present box was likely made as a birthday gift or as a food container for the Chinese New Year of Spring Festival celebration. Its design is steeped in auspicious symbolism and derives from a Jiajing (r. 1522-66) original. The inscription chunshou baohe is composed of the chun and shou characters, which represent a wish for 'ten thousand longevities and eternal spring' (wanshou changchun), while bao ('treasure' or 'precious thing') refers to the contents of the box, which may be filled with gold and silver coins, ingots, gems, coral, pearls and other precious materials. Spring also represents renewal and the beginning of the New Year; hence boxes of this type were designed to convey the sentiment of longevity and renewal of life. For a Jiajing prototype, see one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 134.