Asian Arts

Cinnabar Lacquer Box, Ca. 1765

Appraisal: Cinnabar Lacquer Box, ca. 1765

Transcript

GUEST: My grandmother apparently purchased it in an antique store in 1930. And when she moved back to China, she gave it to my mother, and my mother had it sitting on her dresser for, oh, gosh, ages, and she gave it to me.

APPRAISER: So your grandmother purchased this in China?

GUEST: Yes, in Peking.

APPRAISER: I see. And when did she come to this country?

GUEST: I think she came to this country in 1950. My grandfather had been a diplomat, so she'd been back and forth many times, but in 1950, the entire family, including me, we came from Peking to Hong Kong.

APPRAISER: I see.

GUEST: And my parents came to the United States, and my grandmother stayed in Hong Kong to take care of me.

APPRAISER: I see. This is a very interesting and complicated piece. It's a piece of cinnabar lacquer. It was made during the Qianlong period. Do you know when that was?

GUEST: (laughs): No.

APPRAISER: Qianlong was probably the most forward-thinking emperor of the Qing dynasty.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: His reign was between 1735 and 1795.

GUEST: Wow.

APPRAISER: He had a group of great imperial craftsmen working for him...

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: ...and was interested very much in the natural world. His reign is known for gorgeous white jades...

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER ...lovely pieces of cinnabar lacquer...

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: ...scholars' objects, all with puns and rebuses and stories attached to them.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: So my colleague and I were trying to figure out what the rebus is of the cricket and the melon, which, of course, reflects actually how you would find a melon in nature.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Surrounded by crickets, and leaves, and things like this. And we haven't quite finished our research. But here you have a cricket.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: You have a prunus here, you have melons, you have wonderful leaves all carved out of three layers of lacquer. The first layer, and it's really not easy to see, but it is yellow, which is meant to simulate gold.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: Above that is a green lacquer. And above this is this lovely cinnabar red color. Each layer was applied in 100 coats.

GUEST: 100 coats? You're kidding.

APPRAISER: And then left to dry for three days...

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: ...before the next layer was applied in a different color.

GUEST: Really?

APPRAISER: So it was a very painstaking process.

GUEST: My goodness.

APPRAISER: And look at the quality of carving.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: This quality of carving could only have been done in the Qianlong period.