Footnotes

• 清乾隆 剔紅描金大吉葫蘆瓶
  
  The Qianlong period saw active guidance from the Emperor himself over the production of Court lacquerware. The style developed under his direction is recognisable for its opulence combined with precision of knifework: the present outstanding deeply-carved double-gourd vase is a fine example of this style of craftsmanship. The formal structure of the design is complemented by the vigorous and lively rendition of each element such as the Buddhist Emblems and the surrounding scrollwork. Compare a lacquer tripod censer, Qianlong seal mark and of the period, carved with a similarly crisp and precise style with the Eight Buddhist Emblems amid scrolls, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, no.147.
  
  The characters da ji express the wish for good fortune, and are frequently used to decorate objects of the double-gourd shape. The bottle gourd itself is associated with the Daoist Immortals, and in particular Li Tieguai who used the gourd as a container for medicine. This pairing of the bottle gourd with the da ji characters thus creates a particularly auspicious object.
  
  Compare a related red lacquer double-gourd vase, dated to the Qing Dynasty, in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing (Gu00109342). Compare also a similar vase from the British Museum and dated to the 16th/17th century, illustrated by O.Bilitz, Oriental Lacquer, 1969, no.27.