A very rare bamboo-veneer 'longevity' box and cover, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period | 清乾隆 文竹雕福壽雙全雙環式蓋盒

This superbly carved box is conceived in the shape of two interlocking rings, symbolising completeness, a motif that acquired popularity during the Ming and Qing dynasties due to its auspiciousness. Bamboo-veneer boxes of this form were held in high esteem and produced for the Imperial Court. For another conjoined circular box of identical size and form from the Qing Court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, with an additional tier and carved with clouds, see Small Refined Articles of the Study. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Shanghai, 2011, pl. 300. Compare also another box and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, but of rhombus form, illustrated in Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 72; and a smaller box, from the collection of Robert H. Blumenfield, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 6th April 2015, lot 3007.