A CINNABAR LACQUER CARVED PEACH-SHAPED BOX AND COVER Qianlong
A CINNABAR LACQUER CARVED PEACH-SHAPED BOX AND COVER
Qianlong
The domed cover carved to the centre with a peach-shaped panel depicting Xiwangmu with a phoenix and holding a peach, and Shoulao unrolling a painting with a yinyang symbol, in a landscape with pine trees, rivers and mountains, the sides of the box carved with a flowerhead diaper ground, the base encircled with a band of stylised shou characters amidst a geographic diaper ground, the interior and base lacquered black.
10.5cm (4 1/8in) long. (2).
清乾隆 剔紅西王母壽星桃形蓋盒
Provenance: Christie's London, 1 August 1972, lot 291
An English private collection
The combination of the imagery of the peach, the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) and the God of Longevity (Shoulao) would have made the present lot an appropriate birthday gift, as an emblem of longevity and immortality. The God of Longevity is often pictured as holding a peach. The Queen Mother of the West has long been believed to be the dispenser of prosperity and longevity.
Compare with a similar cinnabar lacquer 'Immortal' peach-shaped box and cover, 18th century, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 November 2022, lot 558; see also a related carved cinnabar lacquer 'peach'-shaped box and cover, Qianlong, sold at Bonhams London, 18 May 2023, lot 57.
Bid on this lot
A CINNABAR LACQUER CARVED PEACH-SHAPED BOX AND COVER
Qianlong
The domed cover carved to the centre with a peach-shaped panel depicting Xiwangmu with a phoenix and holding a peach, and Shoulao unrolling a painting with a yinyang symbol, in a landscape with pine trees, rivers and mountains, the sides of the box carved with a flowerhead diaper ground, the base encircled with a band of stylised shou characters amidst a geographic diaper ground, the interior and base lacquered black.
10.5cm (4 1/8in) long. (2).
清乾隆 剔紅西王母壽星桃形蓋盒
Provenance: Christie's London, 1 August 1972, lot 291
An English private collection
The combination of the imagery of the peach, the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) and the God of Longevity (Shoulao) would have made the present lot an appropriate birthday gift, as an emblem of longevity and immortality. The God of Longevity is often pictured as holding a peach. The Queen Mother of the West has long been believed to be the dispenser of prosperity and longevity.
Compare with a similar cinnabar lacquer 'Immortal' peach-shaped box and cover, 18th century, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 25 November 2022, lot 558; see also a related carved cinnabar lacquer 'peach'-shaped box and cover, Qianlong, sold at Bonhams London, 18 May 2023, lot 57.
