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A small cinnabar lacquer 'boys at play' cabinet Qianlong/ Jiaqing
Sold for £14,400 inc. premium
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Find your local specialistA small cinnabar lacquer 'boys at play' cabinet
Of rectangular form, set with two smaller upper doors and two larger lower ones atop a drawer, finely carved with figural scenes set within fenced gardens by pagodas amidst pine and wutong trees in a mountainous river landscape, including boys at play with a matron watching over them, framed by a key-fret border, the drawer reserved against dense foliate lotus and floral scrolls, applied with metal hinges and plates incised with floral scrolls and adorned with flower-basket-shaped handles.
62.6cm x 38.1 x 13.1cm (24⅝in x 15in x 5⅛in).
Footnotes
The present lacquer cabinet is rare for its intricate and amusing design of 'boys at play', yingxi tu. The motif of boys may be seen on Song Dynasty ceramics and was particularly popular during the Jiajing period in the Ming Dynasty and in the Qianlong period during the Qing Dynasty. This design represents the wish for many sons, and that they will honourably pass the civil service examinations, the jinshi exams.
Compare a three-colour lacquer cabinet of different form but with related 'boys and play' design, sold at Christie's Hong Kong on 30 May 2006, lot 1265.














