Lot description
each of rectangular form, meticulously embellished with a profusion of diverse materials against an ochre lacquer ground within a cinnabar lacquer frame carved with floral scrolls and bats flanking stylised wan symbols against a dense floral diapered ground, one panel with a square-sectioned baluster vase with long leafy stems bearing floral buds and blossoms depicted with amethyst and carnelian, all supported on an intricately carved ivory stand, next to an archaistic teapot resting atop an ivory stand, its chained cover placed next to the stand, the panel further depicted with a large dish with a flared rim, all supported on a carved wood stand, the dish rendered with blue and white porcelain decorated with floral scrolls and a key-fret border, various fruits abundantly arranged on the dish, including a peach, grapes and three finger-citrons, two of which depicted employing ivory and one amber, the right foreground adorned with two books depicted with intricately carved and stained ivory, the books acting as the stand of an ivory vase inlaid with a round bulbous plaque alongside a lobed box and cover issuing forth lingzhi wisps, two large ripe pomegranates rendered with stained ivory resting aside the books, the upper right corner incised with an imperial poem followed by Qianlong yiwei chuntie zici ('Spring invitation for the yiwei (1775) year') and two seal marks reading Qianlong zhenhan ('calligraphy by the Qianlong Emperor') and Weijing weiyi ('be precise, be undivided'), all below seven polychrome lacquer cartouches, each carved with lotus scrolls and enclosing a stylised ji ('auspiciousness') framed by bats and lingzhi clouds, the other panel similarly embellished with an assortment of media depicting an assemblage of scholarly and auspicious items, centred with an archaistic censer and cover surmounted with a jade finial, all resting on a lobed wood stand, next to a blue and white gu-form vase issuing forth thin gnarled branches bearing leaves depicted with stained ivory and floral buds and blossoms with amber and painted soapstone, all supported on a splayed ivory stand next to a small jade double-gourd vase, the vessels partially concealing a small ivory baluster vase and arrows horizontally placed behind, the tasteful scholarly setting highlighted with an ivory brushpot filled with various implements, including an incense tool and a massage implement with beads depicted with carnelian, lapis lazuli, turquoise matrix, crystal and agate, the right foreground adorned with a small circular cinnabar lacquer box and cover intricately carved with petal lappets and a penzai comprising a jade immortal figure and a vase in the form of a mythical beast inlaid with a circular dendritic agate panel issuing forth two floral stems, the upper right section similarly incised with an imperial poem followed by Qianlong wushen chuntie zici ('Spring invitation for the wushen (1788) year') and two seal marks, all below seven polychrome lacquer cartouches, each carved with florets and a tasselled double-gourd enclosing the characters da ji ('great auspiciousness')
