Footnotes

清乾隆 彩漆描金雲龍紋看盒一對

Provenance:
J.Lester Jervis, San Francisco
Bonhams San Francisco, 21 June 2011, lot 8242

來源：
舊金山J.Lester Jervis舊藏
舊金山邦瀚斯，2011年6月21日，拍品8242

The highly prosperous reign of the Qianlong emperor, combined with the Imperial taste for outstanding works of art in every field, allowed for the development of technical virtuosity, necessary to supply the exacting Imperial standards. These elements are all demonstrated in the very rare present lot, which was most probably made in accordance with the direct instructions of the Qianlong emperor.

The Imperial archives record in the 11th month of the 8th year of the Qianlong reign (corresponding to 1743), as follows:

'[The] Eunuch Hu Shijie presented a carved red lacquer dragon-decorated sheng (聖) box and cover, together with a rectangular-shaped polychrome lacquer kanhe (看盒) box containing ten silver base cloisonné cups...

By Imperial decree of the emperor: make a pair of boxes after the form of the polychrome kanhe (看盒) and following the style of the carved lacquer dragon and sheng box and cover...'.

The archives also record that the Qianlong emperor further ordered brass base instead of silver base cloisonné enamel cups, with gilt characters of wanshou wujiang (萬壽無疆), and with an inscription as noted above, to be made and placed in the boxes.

The pair of boxes was completed and presented to the emperor in 1746.

See The World Rejoices As One: Celebrating Imperial Birthdays in the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, pp.298-299; and Zhang Rong, 'Carved Red Lacquer 'Flying Dragon' Banquet Box', Forbidden City, Beijing, 1989, p.16, no.4.

The sheng (聖) red lacquer box described above, most likely refers to a circular cinnabar lacquer box and cover, Qianlong and feilong yanhe (飛龍宴盒) ('flying dragons banquet box'), from the Qing Court collection, which is carved with a dragon bearing a sheng character, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai, 2006, pl.13.

The present lot of a very rare pair of polychrome and qiangjin lacquer rectangular sheng boxes and covers, is most probably the reference by the Qianlong emperor to a rectangular polychrome lacquer kanhe box, which served as an example in form.

Combined, the two boxes above provided the decorative style and shape for the pair of kanhe boxes, which was presented to the Qianlong emperor in 1746. The 1746 pair of boxes is most likely the pair of rectangular carved cinnabar lacquer boxes and covers with gilt-bronze wire-mesh windows, Qianlong six-character marks and four-character feilong yanhe (飛龍宴盒) mark, from the Qing Court collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The World Rejoices As One: Celebrating Imperial Birthdays in the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, pp.298-299, no.186. This pair is carved with dragons pursuing the flaming pearl, similarly enclosing (as the present lot) the character sheng; each of the boxes contains ten cloisonné enamel cups bearing the characters wanshou wujiang (萬壽無疆), 'ten thousand longevity without limits'.

The wispy lingzhi-shaped coloured clouds,'qing yun' (慶雲), depicted on the present lot, represent the emperor's wish for longevity. The motif can be further interpreted as a pun on the word 'cloud', yun (雲), which is a homophone for fuyun (福運), 'good fortune'. In an agricultural society, the rain-bearing clouds would have been perceived as a benevolent omen, for the necessary irrigation of the crops. This motif was much admired by the Yongzheng emperor, who became in later life a devout Daoist, with many works of art produced during this period, decorated with this decorative motif; see for example the pair of doucai waterpots, Yongzheng marks and of the period, sold in these rooms, 2 June 2016, lot 12. As the Qianlong emperor was personally involved in ordering the production of such boxes and probably also the present pair, it is no coincidence that the design bore motifs admired by his father.

Compare also a related square qiangjin 'dragon and cloud' box and cover, Qianlong mark and period, from the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, p.151, no.110.

盒長方形，天地蓋，內壁漆金，隔層設兩排共十個圓形凹槽。盒蓋四面安裝銅鎏金紗網，盒通體以黑漆為地色，並以彩漆戧金工藝裝飾，蓋頂正中飾五爪雲龍，雙臂向上托一「聖」字。盒及底座四面分別以彩漆戧金飾三組海水三爪雲龍戲珠紋。戧金技法始於宋元時期，明代宮廷漆器中亦有多見。此對看盒結合彩漆技藝，在陰刻填金作輪廓線，再以色漆彩繪，漆色暈染，在明清兩代宮廷漆器中都較為少見。此類漆盒四壁中空，嵌銅鎏金紗網，既可通風保持盒內乾燥，又可透過網罩欣賞盒內物品，故稱「看盒」，用於放置掐絲琺瑯盌，為皇宮盛宴時重要的餐具。

《造辦處各作成做活計清檔·琺瑯作》記載：「乾隆八年十一月二十七日，七品首領薩木哈，副催總達子來說，太監胡世傑交：紅雕漆龍聖盒一件，彩漆長方看盒一件......傳旨：照雕漆龍聖盒花樣做看盒一對，其看盒內銀琺瑯鐘十件，着交鄧八格照樣燒造掐絲琺瑯鐘二十件，鐘上萬壽無疆四字仍留鍍金，先畫樣呈覽，準時再燒造，盒底長刻大清乾隆年製，方刻飛龍宴盒，據各先畫樣呈覽，準時發與南邊雕做。欽此。」

另見記載：「於乾隆十一年（1746）十月二十日，司庫白世傑、七品首領薩木哈將圖拉做得紅雕漆飛龍宴盒一對持進，交太監胡世傑呈進訖。」見張榮，《剔紅飛龍宴盒》，刊登於《紫禁城》，北京，1989年，頁16，以及《普天同慶：清代萬壽盛典》，故宮出版社，北京，2015年，頁289-299。

《清檔》中之「雕漆龍聖盒」，很有可能為清宮舊藏之剔紅飛龍宴盒，盒蓋上雕一巨大「聖」字，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：清代漆器》，上海，2006年，圖13；其中提及呈乾隆御覽之「彩漆長方看盒」則有可能正是此式描金彩漆看盒。後來於乾隆十一年所呈進的「紅雕漆飛龍宴盒」長方看盒，則為清宮舊藏的一對清乾隆剔紅「飛龍宴盒」看盒，見《普天同慶：清代萬壽盛典》，故宮出版社，北京，2015年，頁289-299，圖186。從以上記載可分析推測，此式描金彩漆看盒的製作時間可能早於剔紅「飛龍宴盒」看盒，其製作年代下限不會晚於乾隆十一年。

此對看盒外壁以描金彩繪祥雲紋或為接近雍正時期風格，清宮所藏一部分雍正時期宮廷器物中經常有此類祥雲紋出現。香港邦瀚斯曾售出一對清雍正鬥彩祥雲紋水丞可資比較，2016年6月2日，拍品12。乾隆早期亦有可能對這種風格有所繼承。

參看北京故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件清乾隆彩漆描金雲龍方盒，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集》，香港，2006年，頁151，編號110。