A MAGNIFICENT EMBELLISHED GOLD BOX AND COVER QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS ARE REQUESTED TO COMPLETE THE PREMIUM LOT PRE-REGISTRATION 3 WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO THE SALE.

superbly executed, the domed cover intricately and ornately decorated with a spray of peaches in high relief soldered onto a dense network of cast twisted gold wires and beads, the fruits inset with turquoise stones and the leaves with stained and naturally coloured bone, all set within gold casing and rendered in naturalistic detail, surrounded by an ornately cast floral scroll encircled by delicately twisted gold wires, the box supported on four scroll-shaped feet with remnants of bright blue kingfisher feathers, cast with a further floral scroll above a band of five bats swooping amid clouds swirls, the sides of the box and cover cast with a keyfret band   

Chinese Gold, Silver and Porcelain: The Kempe Collection, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1971, cat.no. 30, an exhibition touring the United States and equally shown at
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington;
M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, California;
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas;
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas;
The Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio;
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa;
The Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado;
Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City, Utah;
Krannert Art Museum, Champaign, Illinois.

Chinese Gold and Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, Ulricehamn, 1999, pl. 75.

The box in is excellent condition with only losses of the kingfisher feathers that may have once covered areas of the cover and around the base and the foot. There are still traces of feathers remaining on the foot, visible in the catalogue illustrations.
"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."

Golden Branches of Longevitiy
Hajni Elias

Like the coral and pearl inlaid covered box in this collection, exquisite pure gold containers such as this piece were made for the personal use of the emperor or members of the Imperial family. This circular box with its dome-shaped cover stands on a base which still shows traces of kingfisher feather inlay decoration. The domed cover is encrusted with a sculpted fruit branch, the fruits inset with turquoise and the leaves with stained and naturally coloured bone to give it a naturalistic effect. The fruit branch rests on a network of twisted gold wires and beads. Traces of gilding can be seen on the stones, which appear to be in the form of peaches. No similar example appears to be recorded, although a gold box and cover of quatrefoil form, the cover similarly decorated with filigree cell pattern panels and encrusted with a branch of fruiting peaches, the fruit and leaves in carved turquoise, was sold at Christie's London, 1st April 1968, lot 146.

The domed form of this piece is reminiscent of earlier, Yuan period, silver and gold boxes of circular form, usually decorated with fine openwork design; for example see a gold box attributed to the Yuan dynasty sold in our London rooms, 2nd December 1997, lot 27.

For examples of Qianlong period gold boxes, see one pierced in repousse technique with flower scrolls and inlaid with gems, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, included in Zhongguo jinyin boli falangqi quanji, vol. 3, Shijiazhuang, 2002, pl. 306; one covered with a delicate filigree diaper, as seen on the cover of this box, and studded with inlaid turquoise florettes, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 20th May 1987, lot 612; and a third box of related overall filigree ground, from the collections of Her late Majesty Queen Mary and H.M. Knight, included in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-36, cat.no. 2325, and in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Arts of the Ch'ing Dynasty, London, 1964, cat.no. 356, sold in our London rooms, 21st June 1983, lot 15.

The opulence of the gold, together with the exquisite inlaid and high relief decoration make this piece a very special one. The remains of kingfisher feather inlay make it particularly rare. The famous Jiaqing period 'Jinou yonggu' gold cup from the Qing Court collection, still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Treasures of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1995, pl. 83, was similarly set against kingfisher feather ground as seen on the present box. This cup was used by the emperor on New Year's day to celebrate his first writing of the year. The emperor would write auspicious words for the coming year and pray for wealth, peace and successful administration and order in the nation under his rule. The cup was regarded as a highly auspicious object and was handed down for many generations of Qing rulers. 

Kingfisher feather ornaments were owned by ladies of the Chinese court at least since the Tang dynasty (618-907) and the material was reserved for the royalty. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770) in his work titled 'A Song of Fair Women' wrote the following:

On the third day of the Third-month in the freshening weather
Many beauties take the air by the Changan waterfront,
Receptive, aloof, sweet-mannered, sincere,
With soft fine skin and well-balanced bone.
Their embroidered silk robes in the spring sun are gleaming –
With a mass of golden peacocks and silver unicorns.
And hanging far down from their temples
Are blue leaves of delicate kingfisher feathers.
(Witter Bynner, The Jade Mountain: A Chinese Anthology, New York, 1929)

The technique of inlaying feathers is called dian cui meaning 'dotting the kingfishers' whereby the feather is cut to shape and attached with glue onto a gold or silver filigree base. The very intense brilliant blue colour of the feathers comes not from pigments in the feather itself, but from the way light is bent and reflected back to the eye. The most expensive and highest quality pieces traditionally used feathers imported from Cambodia and it is said that Chinese imperial demand for kingfisher feathers may have contributed to the wealth of the Khmer Empire.

Manchu court ladies favoured wearing their hair in a particular style adorned with a headdress (tianzi) that was made in gold or silver and covered with gems and precious materials such as kingfisher feather. For an example see one included in the Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Costume Accessories, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1986, cat.no. 87. Compare also a pure gold headdress ornament decorated with kingfisher feather and inlaid with jewels, ibid., cat.no. 97; and another gold headdress accessory in the form of a water chestnut flower with kingfisher feather and inlaid with coral and pearls, ibid., cat.no. 103.

Another interesting design element taken from earlier gold and silver ware is the fine stamped 'fish-roe' ground decoration seen on this box. This technique was commonly applied with great precision on Tang period vessels to create a particular effect. For example, see a gilt-silver box with a dome-shaped cover decorated with birds amongst flowering branches incised on a meticulously applied 'fish-roe' ground, excavated in 1982 at Dingmaoqiao, Jiangsu province and attributed to the Tang dynasty, illustrated in Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, pl. 570. 

The perfectly positioned fruiting branch on the cover of this container is also highly symbolic. The fruit appears to be in the form of highly stylized peaches – which is one of the richest in symbolism, making it the favoured design associated with longevity, immortality and blessing for a new year or a new beginning.