A very rare and large Imperial carved polychrome lacquer 'nine dragon' box and cover


Jiajing six-character mark and of the periodThe domed circular cover carved in the center with a long coiling five-clawed dragon issuing clouds from its mouth forming a wispy shou character, all amidst further ruyi-head clouds and above waves crashing against rocks, the sides with a band of phoenix and cranes in flight and a further band of four shaped panels containing dragons, interspersed with the bajixiang against a diaper ground, the base similarly decorated, the interior and base lacquered black. 39.1cm (15 3/8in) diam. (2).
|明嘉靖 剔彩雲龍捧壽圓蓋盒描金「大明嘉靖年製」楷書款Provenance: an English private collection來源： 英國私人收藏A similar cinnabar lacquer circular box with carving of dragon and clouds and the Chinese character for longevity (shou), Jiajing, from the Qing Court Collection, is illustrated in Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2006, p.154, no.115. Similar treatment of the shou character made from a single ribbon of smoke can be found on several cinnabar lacquer boxes and trays from the Jiajing reign, including those illustrated in ibid., nos.117, 121 and 133.Compare with a related but smaller cinnabar polychrome lacquer box and cover, similarly carved with dragons, Jiajing, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2096.