AN EXQUISITE GOLD BODY RETICULATED 'BUTTERFLY AND TREE' PARFUMIERE QING DYNASTY, LATE 18TH / EARLY 19TH CENTURY

the two-part hinged box of quatrefoil section, finely reticulated on all sides with a cash-diaper ground of gold thread filigrees, the front and back further inset with an aged tree embellished with fine pearls denoting white flower blooms, below a hovering butterfly picked out with kingfisher feathers, all within a thin border of turquoise beads around the edges, attached on both sides with a yellow silk tassel suspending a large coral bead and threaded with strings of coral and mother-of-pearl seeds

There is one inlaid white pearl missing on the branches of the tree on one side, but otherwise the box and cover are in good condition.
"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."

The craftsman of this elegant box has cleverly created a vessel that uses minimal amounts of the expensive and valuable materials by concentrating them into specific areas while retaining the opulence that is associated with such items. Gold has been pulled into a delicate thread and worked into a filigree web to provide the ground on which the blossoming pearl tree and kingfisher feather-inlaid butterfly are set. The use of solid gold has been reserved only for the trunk and branches which also provides a stunning aesthetic contrast. A similar example in the Qing Court collection, and still in Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Treasures of Imperial Court, Hong Kong, 2004, pl. 98, together with a circular box of this type, inlaid with three orchid flowers in kingfisher feather, pl. 97. See also a slightly larger box of similar form and gold thread filigree ground, but set upon a solid box and inlaid with turquoise to depict birds in a landscape setting, from the H.M. Knight collection, sold in these rooms, 20^th/21^st May 1987, lot 612, and now in the Pierre Uldry collection, included in the exhibition Chinesisches Gold und Silber, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, 1994, cat. no. 311.