Footnotes

• Lü Dongbin is the courtesy name of Lü Yan, an historical figure who lived in the Tang dynasty. He is alleged to have been one of the earliest masters of the tradition of Neidan, or Internal alchemy, and is considered the leader of the Eight Immortals. As in this box and cover, he is typically depicted as being dressed as a scholar, bearing a sword on his back that dispels evil spirits.
  
  There is a large polychrome lacquer box from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, p.89, pl.62, which contains nine similar shaped boxes and covers as the current lot, depicting the Eight Immortals and Shou Lao. The current box and cover appears to be one of such a set.
  
  清乾隆 剔紅呂洞賓桃式盒
  
  盒呈桃形，以紅漆雕出高浮雕呂洞賓圖，呂氏站在行雲上，手執塵拂，抬頭抑望，處之悠然，背景為高山深海，大樹小花，空中有三小蝙蝠。盒壁飾六角錦紋，盒內及底髹黑漆。漆色紅，刀法工整，結構嚴謹，古雅圓熟。
  
  清宮舊藏剔彩八仙祝壽桃式盒展示了一組九件蓋盒，其造形一致，以一仙一盒的形式呈現出八仙及壽老，獨立蓋盒與本拍品的形式相似，相信本拍品也是一組八件或九件之一，唯本盒只製以紅漆，見李久芳，《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：清代漆器》，香港，2006年，頁89，圖版62。清宮還以一大套盒保存此九盒，可見其重要性。