AN IMPORTANT AND VERY RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL AND GILT-BRONZE CIRCULAR 'CHUN' BOX AND COVERQianlongOf compressed globular form resting on a wide foot, exquisitely decorated in bright enamels on a turquoise ground, the cover with a central medallion enclosing a large Chun character centred by a medallion enclosing Shoulao and his deer below a pine tree, flanked by a pair of writhing five-clawed dragons amidst cloud scrolls and above a large quatrefoil bowl issuing rainbow coloured rays centred by the flaming pearl, Endless Knot and other Auspicious Emblems, encircled by a classic scroll border, the sides of the box and cover with eight lobed cartouches each vividly depicting different scenes with a scholar and boy engaged in various leisurely pursuits in landscape scenes filled with rockwork and lush vegetation including willow, bamboo, pine and paulownia, divided by the Babao, all reserved against floral honeycomb blue and turquoise diaper ground, with a further zigzag band and a border of continuous foliate lingzhi fungus scroll, the heads of Shoulao and the figures delicately modelled in relief as gilt-bronze appliqués, the base decorated with prunus blossoms on a 'cracked-ice' ground. 21.5cm (8 1/2in) diam. (2).Footnotes:清乾隆 鎏金銅胎掐絲琺瑯「春壽」寶盒Provenance: Sir Michael Oppenheimer (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020) and Lady Helen Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022), and thence by descent來源：Michael Oppenheimer 爵士（三代從男爵，1924-2020年）與Helen Oppenheimer爵士夫人（1926-2022年）舊藏，並由後人保存迄今The collection belonged to Sir Michael and Lady Oppenheimer DD (3rd Baronet, 1924-2020). Sir Michael's maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Grenville Harvey, 2nd Baronet (1856-1931) and Lady Emily Blanche Harvey (1872-1935) of Langley Park, Buckinghamshire. The Chinese art collection can be, at least in part, traced back to Langley Park, Buckinghamshire, home to the Harvey Baronets from 1788 until 1945, as demonstrated in a pre-1945 photograph showing Lot 122, the cloisonné enamel tripod 'elephant' incense burner, Qianlong.Sir Michael Oppenheimer's paternal family was the well-known South African mining family. The baronetcy was created in 1921 for Bernard Oppenheimer, Chairman of the South African Diamond Corporation for setting up diamond sorting factories to employ wounded ex-servicemen after the First World War. The family has been involved with De Beers over many decades. Lady Oppenheimer DD (1926-2022) was a distinguished moral and philosophical theologian, with a particular interest in the ethics pertaining to personal relationships.This remarkable box and cover was previously part of a set likely numbering eight or nine boxes, of which to-date only five similar cloisonné enamel and gilt-bronze 'Chun' boxes and covers with relief gilt-bronze 'face' appliqués, Qianlong, appear to have been published. These include, in addition to the present lot, the two which were sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 9 October 2007, lot 1323; one from the T.B. Kitson collection, which was sold at Sotheby's London, 21 February 1961, lot 263, and is now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (museum no.M.73.74a-b); and the fifth, from the Pierre Mercier collection, was published by Poly Art Museum, Beijing, The Exhibition of Chinese Bronze and Cloisonné Enamel Wares from the Pierre Mercier and Overseas Collections, Beijing, 2011, no.52, and was later sold at Poly Beijing, 5 December 2013, lot 7169. See also a pair of closely related but larger cloisonné and champlevé enamel and gilt-bronze Chun boxes and covers, Qianlong, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3653. The design of the God of Longevity, Shoulao, centred within a Chun ('Spring') character, appeared during the Qianlong period also on carved lacquer boxes and covers, known as Chun Shou baohe, 'Precious box of Spring and Longevity'; see one box in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated by R.Zhang, Yangxindian zaobanchu shiliao jilan-dierji Qianlong chao (Historical Materials Relating to the Imperial Workshop in Yangxing Dian: Part II Qianlong), Beijing, 2012, p.136, pl.137, and another similar box, in the Qing Court Collection in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, p.88, pl.61. The design, however, was first introduced during the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty (1522-1566). Compare with a polychrome lacquer carved 'Chun' box, Jiajing, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, p.176, no.134; and see also another similar box, illustrated in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colours: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2008, p.97, pl.87. The design of Shoulao, his deer, and the depiction of cranes are all symbolic of the wish for long life. The character Chun, Spring, is a metaphor for youth and fertility. Combined, they impart auspicious wishes to the emperor of long life and eternal youth. The cartouches alternate with the Eight Treasures (Babao), the wish-granting pearl, double lozenges, stone chime, pair of rhinoceros horns, cash, ingot, coral, and ruyi. The box and cover are decorated with eight ruyi-shaped cartouches, each enclosing a figural scene with a sage and attendant within landscape. They each represent a different renowned literatus, who was a scholar, poet or calligrapher, shown in the form of a scholar-official or sage with his attendant and in a scene depicting an attributable feature of anecdotal story unique to the person. They share the characteristic of pursuing a particular devotion, often leading a life of a recluse in preference over civic duties.In the context of the Qing Manchu Court, referencing these highly renowned Han literati on a vessel specially commissioned for the Imperial Court, exemplifies the Manchu emperors' and specifically the Qianlong emperor's intellectual ambitions and endeavours to formulate their image as learned scholars sustaining the values embodied in China's past. The Qianlong emperor wrote thousands of poems, practiced calligraphy and played the qin. He also formed one of the most important collections of art. Therefore the reference to the famous literati, the values they held and their artwork, would have held a special meaning to him. These are on the cover: 1. A scholar and attendant are shown in front of two cranes below a willow tree. Cranes are symbolic of long life. The sage depicted may be Lin Hejing also known as Lin Bu (967-1028 AD), a Northern Song dynasty renowned poet, calligrapher and scholar who lived as a recluse by the West Lake in Hangzhou. Although he was offered prestigious government positions, he refused all civic duties to pursue poetry. He is known to have loved plum blossoms and to raise cranes. It was said that the plum tree was his wife and the cranes his children. 2. A male attendant is offering a goose to a sage seated under bamboo. This scene could be identified as depicting the story of Wang Xizhi catching the goose. Wang Xizhi, regarded as the greatest Chinese calligrapher, was a writer and politician who lived during the Jin dynasty (265–420 AD), and known for his hobby of rearing geese.3. A sag... This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
