A SQUARE THREE-COLOR LACQUER ‘CHUN’ SPRING BOX AND COVER, QING DYNASTY
China, 18th - 19th century. Deeply carved through several layers of cinnabar, orange, and black lacquer, the top of the cover with a shaped panel enclosing a bowl of precious objects radiating rays illuminating the large character Chun (‘spring’) centered by a roundel enclosing Shoulao flanked by two cranes standing before a pine tree and rockwork. The straight sides of the box and the cover are carved with angular scroll designs reserved against lozenge diaper. The interior and base are lacquered black.


Provenance:
Gallery Van Stockum, The Hague, Netherlands, 21 May 1958 (according to an ancient family ledger inspected by Cabinet Portier, Paris, France, during their appraisal of the complete de Strycker estate; this ledger remains in the possession of the de Strycker family and may not be copied). Collection of Robert and Isabelle de Strycker, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. Old collection label to the base of the box. Robert de Strycker (1903-1968) was a French engineer who specialized in metallurgy. He was a Stanford graduate, a professor at the University of Leuven, a director of the Institute of Metallurgy at the Université Catholique de Louvain, and one of the most influential members of the faculty of applied sciences. After World War II, he made large contributions to France’s post-war recovery. Robert and his wife Isabelle (1915-2010) first encountered Chinese art at the British Museum during a stay in London in the 1930s. Enamored with the style and beauty, they both decided to study and collect Chinese works of art. In 1938 they eventually began to build their collection, buying from Belgian, Parisian, and English dealers. They kept close contact with the famous English collector Sir Harry Garner (1891-1977) and noted Czech collector and expert Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976). In 1964, the couple lent 174 objects from their collection to the Belgian city of Leuven’s museum for an exhibition titled Oude kunst in Leuvens Privébezit (‘Old Art in Private Collections in Leuven’), and in 1967 they lent around thirty Japanese objects to the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels for their exhibition Kunst van Japan im belgischen Privatverzameingen (‘Japanese Art in Belgian Private Collections’).

Condition:
Good condition with old wear and expected manufacturing irregularities. Natural imperfections including minor age cracks as well as tiny nicks, light scratches, minor losses, some possibly with minimal ancient repairs and/or touchups. Good patina overall.

Weight: 515.4 g
Dimensions: Length 18.2 cm


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Galerie Zacke, 9 March 2023, lot 8
Price:
EUR 10,400

Description: A three-color lacquer ‘chun’ spring box and cover, Qianlong period
Expert remark: Compare the closely related Chun motif. Note the circular form as well as the size (25.5 cm).




清代剔彩春壽方盒

中國，十八至十九世紀。盒呈方形，倭角，子母口，矮壁淺圈足，底部及盒內髹黑漆。外壁通體剔彩髹朱、黃、黑三色漆，以黃、黑漆作錦地，朱漆“春”為主題紋飾。蓋面開光，開光內雕聚寶盆，盆內滿盛珍寶，映射出萬道霞光。上托“春”字，春字中心圓形開光，居中壽星端坐於青松下。 “春”字兩側各雕蕉葉紋，四周襯托彩雲。盒壁上下各有四組開光，內雕回紋。


來源：
海牙Van Stockum藝廊，1958年5月21日 (根據法國巴黎 Cabinet Portier 在對整個 de Strycker 莊園進行評估時檢查過的一份家族帳本所記載；該帳本仍由 de Strycker 家族所有，不得複製)。Robert與Isabelle de Strycker收藏，購於上述藝廊，在同一家族保存至今。Robert de Strycker (1903-1968) 是一位法國冶金工程師。他畢業於史丹佛大學，曾是魯汶大學教授，同時也是魯汶天主教大學冶金研究所所長，是應用科學學院最有影響力的成員之一。二戰後，他為法國的戰後復興做出了巨大貢獻。 Robert與他的妻子Isabelle （1915-2010）於 上世紀三十年代在大英博物館首次接觸到中國藝術。因爲其風格和美感所吸引，他們決定研究和收藏中國藝術品。1938 年，他們開始建立自己的收藏，從比利時、巴黎和英國經銷商處購買。 他們與英國著名收藏家Harry Garner爵士（1891-1977）和捷克著名收藏家兼專家Fritz Low-Beer (1906-1976）保持著密切聯繫。1964 年，這對夫婦將他們收藏的 174 件物品借給了比利時魯汶市博物館，用於一場名為 Oude kunst in Leuvens Privébezit（“魯汶私人收藏中的藝術”）的展覽，1967 年，他們將大約30件日本藝術品借給了 布魯塞爾皇家藝術與歷史博物館的展覽 Kunst van Japan im belgischen Privatverzameingen（“比利時私人收藏中的日本藝術”）。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損和製造缺陷，輕微的老化裂紋，以及微小的刻痕、輕微劃痕和缺損，有一些舊修補。包漿良好。

重量：515.4 克
尺寸：長 18.2 釐米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：Galerie Zacke，2023年3月9日，lot 8
價格：
EUR 10,400

描述：乾隆時期剔彩春壽蓋盒
專家評論：比較非常相近的春主題。請注意圓形和尺寸(25.5 厘米)