A rare imperial finely carved cinnabar lacquer cabinet Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 剔紅博古花卉紋提匣

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th/21st May 1987, lot 595.

香港蘇富比1987年5月20/21日，編號595

Exuberantly carved in relief with dense panels of antiques and flowers, the present cabinet exemplifies the Qianlong Emperor's opulent taste as well as the unsurpassed sophistication of lacquer carving achieved during his reign.

The present cabinet belongs to a group of imperial stationery cabinets made in the Lacquer Workshops of the Zaobanchu (Imperial Palace Workshop) located in the Forbidden City. The dramatic contrast between boldly cut outlines and delicately incised details is reminiscent of an example from the Qing Court collection, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, pl. 45. 

An almost identical cabinet probably the pair to the present example, as the two collectively would have depicted flowers from the Four Seasons, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28th May 2019, lot 136. Compare two further examples, one formerly in the Kaisendo Museum, Japan, depicting a similar subject but rendered in lower relief carving, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29th May 2019, lot 2962; and another with floral panels accompanied by imperial poems by the Qianlong Emperor, sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2011, lot 1219.

此提匣巧雕博古花卉，佈局繁複，雕刻細緻入微，凹凸有致，盡顯乾隆一朝奢華品味及雕漆藝術成就。

本品由清宮造辦處製作，應為宮廷貯存文房配件之用。清宮舊藏有一例，現藏北京故宮博物院，載於《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集．清代漆器》，香港，2006年，圖版45。

同可參考一近例，同飾博古花卉，與本品組合描繪四時花卉，應可成對，售於香港邦瀚斯2019年5月28日，編號136。另有兩例，其一出自日本蟹仙洞博物館，淺浮雕紋飾相若，售於香港佳士得2019年5月29日，編號2962；其二花卉紋配有乾隆御詩，售於紐約佳士得2011年9月15日，編號1219。