Imperial box and cover mark and reign of Qianlong, 1736-95
Red lacquer | 10.3 x 25.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 3313
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Shallow Imperial box and cover, with rounded, five-lobed sides, flanged rim and spreading foot. The matching cover with a slightly projecting flat top, on which is carved a landscape with scholars in pavilions and figures on terraces by a lake, with wutong and pine trees and distant mountains, within a diapered border. On the lobed sides below, a design with blooms floating on a sea of waves, repeated on the sides of the box above a lotus-petal border. Incised on the base and filled with gold, the six-character reign-mark, and inside the cover, the inscription:
勝遊寶盒
Shengyou baohe
‘Delight in wandering at leisure’ precious box
Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume III.
Provenance
Acquired by George III. Presented by the Qianlong emperor following Lord Macartney’s Embassy of 1792–4: ‘red carved lacquer “delight in wandering at leisure” precious box, one piece’ (Royal Archives GEO ADD31/21D). Formerly at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, described as ‘formed of five circles, landscapes & figures’, and in June 1848 sent to Kensington Palace (1829A, p. 45).
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Creator(s)
(place of production)(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Red lacquer
Measurements
10.3 x 25.0 cm (whole object)
Place of Production
China