Lot 34 清康熙　黑漆嵌螺鈿十龍圖葉式蓋盒 | A SUPERB BLACK LACQUER MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID 'DRAGON' BOX AND COVER

清康熙　黑漆嵌螺鈿十龍圖葉式蓋盒 | A SUPERB BLACK LACQUER MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID 'DRAGON' BOX AND COVER

Kangxi

HKD 150,000

HKD 150000 - 200000

未知

未知

Kangxi
Of oblong shape with scalloped profile that forms a leaf with raised veins across the top displaying ten sinuous dragons inlaid with tiny pieces of iridescent shell and surrounded by gilt-lacquered scrolls, the sides of the box and cover inlaid or painted en suite with flowers of the four seasons while the interior surfaces and the exterior flat base are finished with a layer of monochrome black lacquer, fitted box.
24cm (9 1/2in) long. (3).
Footnotes
清康熙　黑漆嵌螺鈿十龍圖葉式蓋盒
Provenance:
Sotheby's New York, 16 March 1984, lot 172A
An American private collection
Bonhams San Francisco, 24 June 2013, lot 1140
Published and Illustrated:
Zhang Rong, ed., The Creation of Natural Immensity and Grandeur: The Yang Ming Shan Fang Collection of Lacquer from Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Beijing, 2020, pp.138-140, no.42
紐約蘇富比，1984年3月16日，拍品編號172A
美國私人收藏
三藩市邦瀚斯，2013年6月24日，拍品編號1140
張榮主編，《巧法造化：陽明山房藏宋元明清漆器》，北京，2020年，頁138至140，編號42
The present box is particularly rare for its distinctive leaf-form, with the scalloped outline and raised veins of the cover creating a highly unusual form among Qing dynasty mother-of-pearl-inlaid lacquer wares. Compare a wood box with flower and leaf pattern, of related shape, Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection at the Palace Museum, Taipei (acc.no.guqi000330). See also a black lacquer mother-of-pearl-inlaid shaped box and cover, decorated with landscapes, Qing dynasty, in the Qing Court Collection at the Palace Museum, Beijing (acc.no.gu00115731).
The decoration of the present box is equally distinctive in its use of ten sinuous dragons, each meticulously rendered in tiny pieces of iridescent shell and surrounded by gilt-lacquered scrolls. The depiction of ten dragons is particularly unusual. Nine dragons constitute a well-established subject in Chinese art and carry strong Imperial associations, while ten traditionally connotes completeness and totality. The present composition may also allude to the traditional concept of the Dragon King accompanied by his nine sons (), although this interpretation cannot be established with certainty.
Mother-of-pearl inlay on black lacquer enjoyed particular popularity during the Kangxi period, with surviving examples ranging from boxes and furniture to screens and other vessels, often employing elaborate pictorial, floral or geometric decoration. While the technique and materials of the present box are therefore characteristic of the period, its distinctive leaf-form and highly unusual decoration of ten dragons amongst gilt-lacquered scrolls appear to be exceptionally rare. See a black lacquer lobed box with mother-of-pearl-inlaid geometric designs, late 17th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.91.1.672); and a black lacquer mother-of-pearl-inlaid screen decorated with women in a palace, Kangxi, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.2001.76a–l). See also a circular black lacquer box and mother-of-pearl-inlaid box and cover, Qing dynasty, decorated with aquatic creatures, in the Palace Museum, Beijing (acc.no.gu00114713).
蓋盒形似五片菱葉交疊。通體髹黑漆嵌螺鈿，黑漆黝潤，螺鈿斑斕。蓋頂隨形起棱，各界格內嵌飾一龍，為數有十，龍軀舒展遨逸，姿態各異，龍尾分叉為二，紆繞飄揚；亦描金添飾卷葉紋，尤顯煌熠。盒身及蓋側飾折枝花卉，枝丫描金，花葉嵌寶，疏落有致。整器造型新穎，紋飾瑰奇，稀見無多。
此盒造型獨特，在清代嵌螺鈿漆器中堪稱別開生面之作。造型接近者，比較台北故宮博物院清宮舊藏一件清代花葉紋漆木盒（館藏編號：故漆000330）；另見清宮舊藏一件清代黑漆嵌螺鈿山水圖蓋盒，現存北京故宮博物院（館藏編號：故00115731）。本品以十龍蜿蜒為飾，別開生面。每龍皆以貝片精嵌而成，環以金漆卷草，工藝精緻。十龍之數尤為罕見：九龍乃中國藝術中常見之題材，具皇權象徵；而「十」則傳統上象徵完滿。此構圖或暗示龍生九子之說，然此解讀尚難遽定。
黑漆嵌螺鈿工藝於康熙朝尤為盛行，傳世例子涵蓋盒、家具、屏風及其他器物，裝飾多為精細圖樣、花卉或幾何紋。本盒之工藝與材質屬康熙朝特徵，然其獨特葉形及十龍穿行金漆卷草間之裝飾，極為罕見。參考紐約大都會藝術博物館藏一件十七世紀晚期黑漆嵌螺鈿幾何紋盒（館藏編號91.1.672）；同館另藏一件康熙時期黑漆嵌螺鈿仕女圖屏風（館藏編號2001.76a–l）。又見北京故宮博物院藏一件清代黑漆嵌螺鈿圓蓋盒（館藏編號：故00114713）。