The front-facing dragon on this box’s lid continues a late Ming-period tradition of depicting dragons frontally. In addition to the reign mark on the base, a title mark describes the piece as a “cloud-and-dragon treasure box” (yunlong baohe); its inclusion in the inscription reflects a new practice that appeared in the imperial workshop of the Qianlong period.
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Marking: The imperial mark “made in the Qianlong era of the Great Qing [dynasty]” (above) and the box’s title (below) incised and filled with gold on the base
[ Donald J. Wineman , New York, until 1982; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York 1982–2015; donated to MMA)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "East Asian Lacquer from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," November 22, 1991–February 23, 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Irving Lacquers," 1998–2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: Painted and Carved," 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: An Introduction," December 4, 2007–May 11, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer," August 6, 2009–February 21, 2010.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Extravagant Display: Chinese Art in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," December 14, 2010–May 1, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Introduction to Chinese Lacquer," December 11, 2013–July 6, 2014.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Lacquer: Treasures from the Irving Collection, 12th–18th Century," August 15, 2015–June 19, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cinnabar: The Chinese Art of Carved Lacquer, 14th to 19th Century," June 15, 2016–October 9, 2017.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Spirited Creatures: Animal Representations in Chinese Silk and Lacquer," October 21, 2017–July 22, 2018.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masters and Masterpieces: Chinese Art from the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection," January 30, 2021–June 5, 2022.
Watt, James C. Y., and Barbara Brennan Ford. East Asian Lacquer: The Florence and Herbert Irving Collection. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991, pp. 108, 372, cat. no. 43, fig. 43.
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