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Sandalwood
curio box with carved dragon décor
containing 47 curios
Ch'ien-lung reign (1736-1795), Ch'ing dynasty
35 x 21.5 x 44.6 cm |
Curio boxes, known as
"to-pao ko (multi-treasure compartments)" in
Chinese, of the Ch'ing dynasty derive from one
of the elegant pastimes in the life of scholars
in the previous Ming dynasty--refinement in
the taste of collecting objects, taking a joy
of childhood and elevating it to a lofty status
of collecting. Perhaps this is why curio boxes
are sometimes now jokingly referred to "imperial
toy chests". Despite the quite limited and fixed
space for play, curio boxes are also open to
infinite variation.
According to archival
records, this curio box was filled with objects
around 1747 during the reign of the Ch'ien-lung
Emperor and used specifically as a carrying
case on imperial trips. There is also an album
leaf of "Extract of Rhymes by a Dilatory Brush"
written by the Ch'ien-lung Emperor's son, the
Chia-ch'ing Emperor, indicating that the box
was passed down and its contents added to or
changed over time. As opposed to walled display-type
curio boxes, or curio boxes with treasures in
fixed places at court, this small case, because
it was meant to be transported, had to be designed
with convenience in mind while also protecting
the treasures inside, resulting in its sturdy
construction. The focus of its design is a tray-within-a-tray
system of tiers. The treasures inside date as
far back as 5,000 years ago, and their source
locations span great distances and cultures,
ranging from a Neolithic period ts'ung-type
tube of eastern China to the most fashionable
painted enamel pocket watch at the time from
Europe.
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