A Chinese mother-of-pearl-inlaid 'Scholars' box and cover

Qing dynasty, Kangxi Period, Qianli mark

Finely decorated to the cover with a scene of a scholar at a desk within a fenced terrace, beside a seated lady, the interior of the cover with two-character seal mark within a square, the box left plain, 9.1cm diam.

Provenance: Collection Heliot Fils, Paris. (label)

清康熙 黑漆鏍鈿高士圖香盒，鏍鈿「千里」款

來源：Heliot Fils 收藏，巴黎。（標籤）

A native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, Jiang Qianli was a craftsman specialising in inlaid lacquer whose dates of birth and death are unknown; traditionally, he was thought to have been active in the late Ming period, but recent scholarship now veers towards a Kangxi date instead. Certainly, by 1700 his works appear to have been renowned amongst scholars, to the point that Wang Shizhen (1634-1711) in Chibei outan [Random Chats North of the Lake] notes that "those that are particularly good at one art form in recent times include such people as Pu Zhongqian for bamboo carving and Jiang Qianli for pearl inlay…".

He was known for the delicate and detailed workmanship, as well as the interest in the exploration of the varied textures and colours of the mother of pearl, that can be seen in the present lot. The popularity of his works are seen in a saying that circulated during his lifetime: Every home has a cup and a plate from Jiang Qianli.

Cf. a similar box sold by Sotheby's, New York, 18 March 2017, lot 1434; circular dishes with Qianli mark and similar decoration of scholars were also sold by Sotheby's, Hong Kong, on 2 June 2016, lots 36 and 37 respectively. A rectangular box and cover by him, but with decoration of dragons and a poem, is even in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, https://en.dpm.org.cn/collections/collections/2019-06-24/5728.html.