A cinnabar lacquer carved six-lobed box and cover

Qianlong

Qianlong
The cover crisply carved with a shaped central diorama of a scholar in a pavilion gazing up at a balustraded terrace with two bearded sages pointing at an Immortal floating on a cloud above crashing waves, another Immortal carries a basket of herbs along the balustrade in front of two deer, all amidst mountains and trees beneath a moon in the sky, the gently-curving sides with cartouches containing floral sprays, the box similarly decorated. 32cm (12 5/8in) wide. (2).

清乾隆 剔紅開光人物圖六瓣式蓋盒

The present lot is distinguished for its precise knifework and masterful execution, as well as its rare hexalobed form. See a related but larger cinnabar lacquer hexalobed box and cover, Qianlong, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p.121, no.108.

Compare with a related cinnabar lacquer hexalobed box and cover, Qianlong six-character and Xiaoxia Baohe four-character marks and of the period, which was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 June 2016, lot 20.