An Exceptional 'Qiangjin' and 'Tianqi' Lacquer 'Wandai Shenghe' Double-Lozenge Box and Cover Mark and Period of Qianlong

modelled in the form of two overlapping lozenges with six cylindrical posts at the corners, the cinnabar lacquer finely incised and gilt in the qiangjin technique and further picked out in tianqi polychrome enamels with five children at play in a fenced garden terrace set with jagged rocks issuing peonies and a lofty aged tree, to the left a boy ride a hobby horse, while another masquerades as the God of examination Kuixing, and the third hits a gong, to the right another boy pulls a cart while his acolyte holds a ruyi sceptre, the sloping sides similarly decorated with wan symbols among multi-coloured clouds repeated above tempestuous green waves around the foot, the straight sides picked out with a floral-diaper ground and descending bats on the cylindrical posts, the base lacquered red and inscribed in gilt Wandai shenghe ('Double Lozenge Box of Myriad Generations') below a six-character incised horizontal reign mark

2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer. Oriental Ceramic Society of Hong Kong and the Art Gallery, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1993, cat. no. 88.
Layered Beauty: The Baoyizhai Collection of Chinese Lacquer, Art Museum, Institute of Chinese Studies, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2010, cat. no. 23.

The overall condition is very good. The cover only has a 2 cm diameter circular stabilized bruise with associated cracks radiating out on the diaper ground on the lower left side below the boy in the red robe. The cracks from this bruise has been stabilized from both interior and exterior. There is another associated crack that has been stabilized on the lower left edge of the frame near the rocks. There are also expected minor retouching to the bottom edge of the cover at the joints where the two diamonds meet in the middle. There is also minor retouching to a few of the circular flanges that extend off the corners. The box is also in remarkable condition with only light retouching to the circular flanges that extend off the corners, a couple small areas along the inner mouthrim and footrim. The base has a few stabilized cracks that run through the mark and up the sides through the joints of where the two diamonds meet.
"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."

For a Jiajing reign-marked double-lozenge shaped covered box from the Qing Court Collection and still in Beijing, see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, p.193, no. 151 (fig.1). See also a Longqing reign-marked example decorated with dragons and floral borders in the Barber Institute, Birmingham, illustrated by Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, pl. 136. These 16th century examples were no doubt the inspiration to the whole group of Qianlong versions, including the current covered box, the Jiajing example is decorated in qiangji and tianqi with a dragon and phoenix amidst flaming clouds. 

For an identical Qianlong reign-marked covered box, see the example in the Tokyo National Museum, illustrated in Oriental Lacquer Arts, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1977, no. 585. A smaller unmarked cinnabar-lacquer covered box, decorated with boys at play, was sold in these rooms, 25th April 2004, lot 324.

The decoration on the surface is intricately rendered, a highly auspicious profusion of fortuitous symbols emblematic of happiness, prosperity and longevity, including wan symbols, bats and lingzhi. The four-character expression Wandai shenghe ('Double Lozenge Box of Myriad Generations') celebrates future fecundity. The Qianlong artisans have skilfully taken the double-lozenge shaped box from the Jiajing period, with its auspicious, yet more austerely rendered decoration of a dragon and phoenix in more restrained colours, and created a sumptuously decorated and exuberant version abundant in images and emblems fashionable at the Qianlong court.