A GEORGE II GOLD AND ORMOLU JEWELLERY CASKET SET WITH SIMULATED AGATE, BLOODSTONE, AND LAPIS-LAZULI

Lot 5
02.07.2024 17:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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£ 365 400
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1250833
Lot 5 | A GEORGE II GOLD AND ORMOLU JEWELLERY CASKET SET WITH SIMULATED AGATE, BLOODSTONE, AND LAPIS-LAZULI
Estimate value
£ 200 000 – 300 000
A GEORGE II GOLD AND ORMOLU JEWELLERY CASKET SET WITH SIMULATED AGATE, BLOODSTONE, AND LAPIS-LAZULI
CIRCA 1757
The three-tiered pagoda-form case constructed of ormolu and decorated with gold architectural strapwork designs, inset with simulated agate panels and bloodstone, the top and corners surmounted with lapis-lazuli finials, the uppermost frieze drawer opening to a green-velvet lined interior, the central cabinet door opening to reveal two drawers, one containing four cut-glass ormolu-mounted lidded boxes, the lowest cabinet door opening to reveal a further two drawers, one containing twelve Chinese 18th century gold, turquoise, and lapis lazuli rings from the Qianlong period original to the casket, each of the the drawer-fronts depicting varying scenes of temples among rockwork and flowers executed in gold against red simulated agate panels; the case is accompanied by a rare surviving label from the Imperial Collection, inscribed to one side:
進西洋鎏金瑪瑙亭式陳設一座抽屜三件 / 內盛正珠念珠一盤 / 漢玉日月合璧一件 / 計五等正珠一百八顆色暗驚瑩 / 六顆珊瑚佛頭塔 / 松石青金碧玡㺨記念金鄂其里四個共重一兩三錢 / 金鑲松石戒指十二個 [Western gilt agate pavilion-form display case with drawers containing a tray of Buddhist prayer beads, a Han jade bi depicting the union of the sun and moon, 108 beads of five grades, dark in color but very lustrous, six coral Buddhist tower beads, four objects made of turquoise, lapis lazuli, and green stone with gold weighing a total of one liang and three qian, 12 gold rings inlaid with turquoise];
the label inscribed to the other side:
乾隆二十四年四月二十六日收李永標 / 宣統二年九月初二日總管恆泰傳上要去正珠念珠一盤 [Collected by Li Yongbiao in the 24th year, 4th month, 26th day of the Qianlong reign (1759); to the chief eunuch Heng Tai in the second year, 9th month, 4th day of Xuantong (1910), requested a box of prayer beads]
9 7/8 in. (25.1 cm.) high, 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) wide, 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) deep




Provenance

According to the label, collected by Li Yongbiao in the 24th year of the Qianlong reign (1759).
The Collection of Samuel Craft Davis (1871-1940), St. Louis, Missouri;
Thence by descent to his daughter Alita Davis Weaver (1905-1988) and her husband William Bigler Weaver (1908-1979), Greenwich, Connecticut;
To his granddaughter Alita Davis Weaver Reed (d.2023 ) and her husband Nathaniel Pryor Reed (1933-2018), Jupiter Island, Florida;
To the present owners.



Literature

Lu Yangzhen (chief editor), ‘Timepieces Collected by the Qing Emperors in the Palace Museum’, Hong Kong, 1995. (For a related timepiece in the Imperial Collection).
Qing gong nei wu fu zao ban chu dang an zong hui (Comprehensive Archival Records from the Qing Imperial Household Department's Workshops), vol. 24, Beijing, 2005, p. 675. (For the Imperial record corresponding to the current lot).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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