A FINE AND RARE PAIR OF THREE-COLOUR CINNABAR LACQUER CARVED PRUNUS-SHAPED BOWLS AND COVERS, ZHADOU

Qianlong

Qianlong
Each with an everted foliated rim, carved and decorated with cusped red cinnabar floral-cell cartouches and ruyi sceptres reserved on a greenish-black and yellow wan-diaper ground, the body and cover further decorated with red and coloured-lacquer floral-cell pattern bands, the gilt-bronze knop finials encircled by petal lappets and key-fret borders, the interiors and bases lacquered black. Each 15.7cm (6 1/4in) wide. (4).

清乾隆 剔彩錦地紋帶蓋花口唾盂一對

Provenance:
Parry Collection, London, and thence by descent

來源：
倫敦Parry家族收藏，並由後人保存迄今

Notable for the vigorous carving, precision of knifework and meticulous attention to detail, the present bowls and covers encapsulate the opulent style developed under the orders of the Qianlong Emperor, who took an active role in developing Court lacquerwares. The high standards achieved in lacquer production during the Qianlong reign also resulted from the Emperor's intervention by ordering ivory craftsmen from Guangzhou to Beijing to revive many techniques used in Ming lacquer carvings. These included the so-called 'three-colour-layered lacquer carving', ticai, a popular practice during the late Ming dynasty.

A closely-related two-coloured cinnabar lacquer zhadou, mid Qing dynasty, in the Hall of the Three Rarities, Sanxitang, is illustrated in Imperial Furniture of Ming and Qing Dynasties: Classics of the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2008, p.340, no.373. Compare also with a related zhadou and cover, Qianlong, second half 18th century, illustrated by J.Ayers, Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, 2015, p.873, no.2011. Compare the layered carving technique with a three-coloured lacquer carved box and cover, 18th/19th century, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p.164, no.180.

See a single related carved red lacquer zhadou and cover, 18th century, which was sold at Christie's New York, 18 September 2015, lot 2096.

折沿花口，折沿上有四處瓣形開光並剔出錦地紋為飾，開光之間髹以黃綠彩漆並治萬字錦地紋，其上各剔紅漆如意一柄。器身及器蓋同樣在三色彩漆之上剔出各式錦地紋帶。蓋鈕鎏金。器內及器底均髹黑漆。本例雕工細緻，紋飾精巧，呈現了乾隆年間流行的奢華風格。

乾隆皇帝本人對宮廷漆器工藝及風格的發展有極大的影響。在其治下，廣東的牙雕工匠被徵調至內廷，明代漆雕的許多工藝也被恢復，清代漆器工藝在此時一度達到巔峰。其中一項被復原的明代漆雕技法為「剔彩」，即在器物上分層髹以不同顏色的漆，因此所剔紋樣即可呈現不同層次及色彩斑斕之效果。

參考故宮三希堂陳設一例相似的清中期剔彩唾盂，圖見《明清宮廷家具》，北京，2008年，頁340，圖373。另一件可與之相較的清乾隆（十八世紀下半葉）帶蓋唾盂可見於J.Ayers著，《Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen》，卷三，倫敦，2015年，頁873，編號2011。本品所運用之剔彩技法及幾何紋飾亦可比較一例十八/十九世紀剔彩八棱式盒，與收錄於《和光剔彩——故宮藏漆》，台北，2008年，頁164，編號180。

紐約佳士得曾於2015年9月18日售出一例十八世紀剔紅牡丹梅紋錦地渣斗，拍品編號2096，可資比對。