A RARE AND EXQUISITE LAC-BURGAUTÉ BOX AND COVER QING DYNASTY, YONGZHENG PERIOD |

of square section, intricately and richly decorated in mother-of-pearl inlay, gold and silver foil, the cover depicting an idyllic scene of two ladies seated beneath a willow tree, one playing the flute while the other clapping to the rhythm with two boys beside, set in a landscape with cragged rockwork and leafy shrubs, all encircled by a cellular border, the sides of the box and cover decorated with ball flowers scattered against a speckled ground, the box opening to reveal four smaller boxes, each variously adorned with birds and insects flying amidst floral and fruiting branches of lily, hibiscus, melon and finger citrons, the sides similarly decorated with ball flowers reserved against a black ground, the interiors and bases covered in a speckled ground of variegated gold and copper tone

This elegant box is remarkable for its exquisitely executed motif of a lady playing the flute in the laborious technique of mother-of-pearl inlay. The intense iridescence of the abalone shell (haliotis) and the bright gold and silver foils have been masterfully combined to create a highly vibrant and dynamic composition. The box was clearly influenced by in both technique and subject matter; the nashiji ground, where gold flakes are sprinkled onto Japanese lacquerware the black surface, was commonly used in Japan, and the pattern of roundels also appears to have its origins in Japanese designs. The Yongzheng Emperor had a penchant for Japanese lacquer that incorporated gold and silver, and is recorded to have commissioned reproductions of these wares.

Two tiered and lobed boxes of this type, decorated with boys playing in a garden, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, are illustrated in Zhongguo qiqi quanji [Complete series on Chinese lacquer], vol. 6, Fuzhou, 1993, pls 171 and 172, together with a circular box, also in the Palace Museum, Beijing, pl. 166.