A RARE POLYCHROME QIANGJIN AND TIANQI 'DRAGON' LACQUER BOX AND COVERJiajing six-character mark and of the periodDelicately incised to the top with a front-facing five-clawed sinuous dragon in flight amongruyi-shaped clouds, all below a circularshou medallion written in seal script, the rounded sides of the box and cover each decorated with a band of five dragon roundels alternated with foliatelingzhi fungus, the vertical sides with a band of triangular floral patterns, all picked out in black, brown, green and red lacquer within gold-filled incised lines reserved on a rich reddish brown ground, the interior and base lacquered red and incised in gilt with a vertical reign mark, box.19cm (7 1/2in) diam.Provenance: 明嘉靖 戧金填漆壽字龍紋盒「大明嘉靖年製」楷書刻款Lavishly decorated with polychrome qiangjin and tianqi lacquer designs, the present box displays a remarkable degree of labour, which together with the presence of five-clawed dragons conveying an extraordinary sense of dynamism and power, demonstrates it was made for use in the Imperial Court. The Jiajing Emperor was a devout and fervent Daoist and during his reign Daoism became the key form of ritual activity at court, this also popularised the use of auspicious Daoist motifs such as the ruyi-shaped clouds on the cover and foliate lingzhi fungus on the sides.The qiangjin (incised lines filled with gold) technique was developed as early as the Warring Sates period. The history of tianqi however, a subtype of the caiqi technique of colour lacquering, can be traced back to as early as the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Whenbined together, the gold lines and polychrome lacquer created a rather colourful and dazzling effect.For two examples of qianjin and tianqi lacquerwares with similar design as the present lot, Jiajing six-character mark and of the period, see the five-clawed dragon on a polychrome lotus-leave-shaped plate in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Theplete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, p.204, pl.161;pare also to a box and cover in the shape of mallow petals, illustrated in Many Splendors: Yuan, Ming and Qing Lacquerware from the Chao Collection, Beijing, 2010, p.87, pl.22.盒圓形，平頂，通體髹褐色漆為地，彩漆填飾花紋並細勾戧金紋理。蓋面一正面五爪龍頭頂開光篆體'壽'字於流雲紋中盤旋飛舞，盒與蓋壁各飾五個團龍紋，間以纏枝靈芝紋，上下口緣飾有斜格花錦紋。盒内及底髹紅漆，底正中刀刻填金「大明嘉靖年製」楷書款。嘉靖皇帝一生崇信道教，故當時的宮廷器物上有許多表現仙境、道教符瑞等題材的圖紋。此器裝飾華美，所飾圖案有賀壽之吉祥寓意，可謂嘉靖年間戧金填漆的代表作。相同題材的同朝戧金填漆器例子可參考一件清宮舊藏戧金彩漆雲龍紋荷葉式盤，上繪的五爪龍與本盒非常形似，見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集：元明漆器》，香港，2006年，頁204，編&#...