A SMALL CINNABAR LACQUER CIRCULAR CARVED BOX AND COVER AND AN INK CAKE

The box and cover 17th century; the ink cake 18th century

The box and cover 17th century; the ink cake 18th century
Carved to the domed cover with a leisurely gathering of gentlemen seated in a tree-strewn garden, playing a game of weiqi, a boy attendant holding a fan, and a further gentleman beside his horse bearing a musical instrument, the base carved with peonies, the interior containing an ink cake moulded with sinuous chilong and inscribed: zai xiang, 'Containing incense' and yi qing shi, 'Mr Yi Qing'. The box 6.7cm (2 5/8in) diam. (3).

十七世紀 剔紅「東山報捷」圖蓋盒 配十八世紀墨錠

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

The present lot depicts the famous story of 'Reporting Victory to East Mountain' (Dongshan bao jie). Xie An (AD 320–385) also known as 'East Mountain', was a statesman of the Eastern Jin dynasty who despite his lack of military ability and skill, led the Jin through a major crisis. The Former Qin dynasty was expanding in the north and in AD 383 they launched a major attack against the Jin dynasty culminating in the battle of the Fei River. During the battle, Xie An retreated and was playing weiqi with his brother when the surprising news came that they had won. When news of victory came, Xie An did not display any particular emotion, but his excitement later became evident when, after the game, he was going back to his bedroom, and he forgot about the threshold to his room and broke his wooden sandal without realising it.

A cinnabar lacquer box, 16th/17th century, with the same motif of Xie An receiving news of victory, is illustrated by J.Hornby, Chinese Lacquerware in the National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, 2012, p.100, no.13. A related small carved cinnabar lacquer box and cover with figures of sages, 16th century, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated by H.Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, p.130, no.66.

Small lacquer boxes and covers such as the present lot, although originally made to contain seal paste, incense or cosmetics, were often used in the Qing Court during the 18th century to contain various treasures for the delight of the Emperor. See for example, a small circular carved cinnabar lacquer box and cover containing a jade disc, as part of a treasure box, illustrated in A Garland of Treasures: Masterpieces of Precious Crafts in the Museum Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, p.170.

盒穹形蓋上雕有一幅庭院對弈圖，右側一人似乎剛翻身下馬，正向對弈二人呈上一物。盒身外壁以纏枝牡丹紋為飾。盒內盛一螭龍紋墨錠，銘「載香」，款「一卿氏」。

盒蓋所雕紋飾典出東晉故事「東山報捷」。謝安（320-385），世稱東山，東晉政治家與軍事家。公元383年，東晉與前秦之間爆發淝水之戰，謝安憑藉事先周全的籌劃及冷靜應戰，終令晉軍以少勝多。傳說謝安得知捷報時正與客人在家中對弈。他當下不露聲色，神色如常。但客人離去後，他終於難掩興奮之情，在走回內宅途中時不覺在門檻上碰斷了木屐的齒。

丹麥國家博物館館藏一例十六/十七世紀剔紅漆盒，同樣以「東山報捷」圖為飾，見J.Hornby著，《Chinese Lacquerware in the National Museum of Denmark》，哥本哈根，2012年，頁100，編號13。倫敦維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館亦藏有一件十六世紀剔紅帶蓋漆盒，以仙人圖為飾，可為比對，見H.Garner著，《Chinese Lacquer》，倫敦，1979年，頁130，編號66。

形如本拍品的小型雕漆蓋盒，或為裝載印泥、香品或脂粉之用。但在十八世紀的清廷中，該類器皿也常被用於盛放各種珍玩。此類情形可見於台北國立故宮博物院所藏一例漆盒，其內盛裝一塊玉璧；圖見《集瓊藻 : 院藏珍玩精華展》，台北，2014，頁170