50. A VERY RARE SMALL CURIOSITY CABINET IN MIAOJIN ZHAOQI LACQUER PAINTED WITH GOLD AND SILVER Yongzheng period (1723-1735) A VERY RARE SMALL MIAOJIN ZHAOQI LACQUER CURIOSITY CABINET Probably Palace Workshops, Yongzheng period Of circular shape, raised on a curbed pedestal with short cabriole legs and shaped aprons, galleried rim rising to a similarly curbed base with shaped sides and concealing a drawer surmounted by a curved platform, the cabinet with a central square cavity concealing two drawers, the circular frame with two concealed lens-shaped drawers above and below the square opening, two trompe l'oeil lens-shaped fields to the left and right of the opening, the flat sides with a rectangular opening on each side, lavishly decorated with raised designs executed in the miaojin and zhaoqi technique in shades of gold and silver on dark brown, black and red, all on a gold-sprinkled reddish lacquer ground, with gnarled vines to the interior, feathery scrollwork and auspicious emblems on the small doors and drawers of the front and sides, elaborate archaistic scrolls centering on stylized shou characters and flowers around the base, the back painted with a variety of gold flowers on a lustrous gold-sprinkled black lacquer ground. 59cm x 40.2cm x 16.2cm (23 1/4in x 15 7/8in x 6 3/8in) (4). 清雍正 或為宮廷作坊作 描金罩漆多寶閣 Provenance: Formerly in a Swiss private collection (by repute) 來源： 瑞士私人舊藏（傳） This curiously shaped small lacquer cabinet was made during the reign of the Yongzheng emperor who was very interested in this particular medium. Under his auspices, experienced craftsmen working in the imperial workshops produced highly accomplished lacquerware. Almost twenty different types of lacquer are recorded to have been made, distinguished by their polishes, their decorating techniques, the different forms of gilding, colours, and inlays. The Yongzheng emperor was particularly intrigued by Japanese lacquer pieces of which there were many in the imperial collection. Pieces decorated imitating Japanese lacquer techniques were known as yangqi or 'foreign lacquers'. In this particular example, the lacquer decoration uses two techniques that are more or less based on Japanese lacquer techniques. With exception of the back of the cabinet which is painted with gold flowers on a black lacquer ground, most of the surface on this small cabinet and stand is covered with a reddish-brown lacquer base onto which coarse reddish-gold powder mixed with clear lacquer is generously sprinkled imitating the Japanese nashi-ji maki-e technique. Different motifs and designs are painted onto this sparkling ground, some of them in red or black lacquer, some of them in gold and silver. Many of the motifs are slightly raised, an effect that is achieved by painting designs and motifs in layers of brown or black lacquer of varying thickness and covering them with thin sheets of gold, a technique known as shiwen miaojin, Klaus J. Brandt, Chinesische Lackarbeiten, Stuttgart, 1988, p.32. Not many examples of similarly decorated lacquer wares survive, and many of the pieces that are known are in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing. They include a variety of vessels such as small boxes and bowls, but also miniature cabinets, all similarly lavishly decorated in the miaojin and zhaoqi technique applied in the decoration of the present cabinet, compare examples published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Ware of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 2006, nos.141-143 and nos. 150, 152 and 153. The Yongzheng emperor was an avid collector of small antiquities, guwan, many of which he displayed on stands and boxes or in small display or curiosity cabinets, all specially commissioned from the palace workshops. A Japanese-style four-tiered box holding smaller boxes within a framework with circular openings and supported on a stand is particularly interesting as it also appears to have been used as a display cabinet, illustrated ibid. p.194, no.146 (Fig. 1). Like the present example, it is cleverly conceived with hidden interlocking parts that are only revealed once opened. And like the present example, it is decorated with gold-sprinkled powder on a reddish lacquer ground, slightly raised motifs and designs in faded or worn gold revealing black and red lacquer below. The box is similarly raised on a stand with shaped legs and apron similarly decorated with leafy scrollwork issuing large flowers. The decorative scheme and the overall function of the present whimsical cabinet perfectly match that of the example from the Palace Museum collection suggesting that it too may have been made in the palace workshops under the Yongzheng emperor.