Ochre and caramel carved lacquer box

A large circular lacquer box, supported on a straight, low foot, and with rounded sides.  The flat top is carved through a thick layer of caramel-coloured lacquer to the ochre ground, depicting a scene of scholars and their attendants in an elaborate landscape setting with mountains.  In the centre of the scene two scholars, both with beards and dressed in flowing robes, are standing on a balustraded terrace in front of a double-roofed pavilion.  Two servant boys, one of whom is carrying a hoe on his shoulder and a basket containing lingzhi, attend to them. The other servant carries a large spray of lingzhi on his shoulder. A crane stands in front of a large rock formation behind them.  In the foreground a scholar crosses a zigzag bridge, followed by his servant who carries a wrapped qin.  A further scholar stands on a path in the foreground in the company of two servant boys, who carry a large branch of peaches and a gourd respectively.  Tall, craggy mountains are visible in the distance, and a crane is flying in the sky above the mountains. Two decorative borders with Shou (Long Life) symbols, peaches and bats encircle the central scene.  The rounded sides are decorated with eight foliate cartouches containing a variety of flowers. Interspersed between the panels are the eight Buddhist symbols of good fortune.  The interior and base of the box are lacquered black.

•  The striking combination of caramel and ochre colours seen on this imposing box is highly unusual in 18th century lacquer. The vast majority of carved lacquer of this period is executed in cinnabar red, with some pieces in black and others known in green and even blue lacquer.  The use of pale brown or caramel colour does occur more frequently in late Ming dynasty carved lacquers, particularly of the Jiajing (1522 – 1566) and Wanli (1573 - 1619) periods, but is almost without exception used in combination with a red underlayer.  Examples of the latter are a 16th century circular tray with a dragon in the Tokyo National Museum1  and a round dish with a dragon and phoenix, inscribed with a Jiajing mark in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan.2   A slightly smaller circular box with a large Chun (spring) character to the top, carved from a similar yellowish brown lacquer is in the Qing Court collection at the Palace Museum in Beijing.3   A large circular red lacquer box, decorated in similar fashion with figures in a landscape setting and with flower panels and Buddhist emblems to the sides, is also in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.4   As with most boxes of this very high quality, the decoration of the present box includes all manner of auspicious elements, such as cranes, lingzhi, peaches, bats and Shou characters, implying that the box was made specifically for presentation. 

1. Published in: Kobijutsu, Quarterly Review of the Fine Arts, number 51, November 1976, no. 18
2. Published in: Masterpieces of Chinese Carved Lacquer Ware in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, 1971, no 11
3. Gugong Museum: Qingdai Qiqi (Qing Dynasty Lacquer) Complete Collection of Treasures Gugong, 46. Hong Kong/China 2006, no. 59, pp. 84-5
4. Gugong Bowu Yuancang diaoqi (Carved Lacquer in the Collection of the Palace Museum), Wenwu Chubanshe, Beijing 1985, plate 291