Writing set, Qianlong period. Carved red lacquer, cloisonnéenamel, ivory and other materials, 18.5×29 x 25.5 cm. The Palace Museum, Beijing.
Writing Set
This carved red lacquer writing set consists of a low table on which is placed a tray of writing utensils. It conforms with the passion of the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1736—95) for painting and calligraphy and also his delight in camouflaging objects and hiding them in surprising ways. The lacquer book covers with ivory sides carved to resemble pages are in fact a box which opens to reveal a copy of the celebrated Peiwen yunfu, the vast rhyming dictionary compiled during the Kangxi period (1662—1722). The cylindrical brush pot turns out to hold five cloisonne enamel paperweights. Inside the two square boxes with lions carved on the lids are a cloisonne paste box and a jade seal. The bell-shaped lacquer box contains a green inkstone and the shallow rectangular box holds two ink sticks of red and black ink, respectively, each decorated with gilt and inscribed ‘Sanxi tang’ (Hall of Three Treasures), the name of the Qianlong Emperor’s study at his primary residence in the Forbidden City, the Yangxin dian (Hall of Mental Cultivation). Two carved red lacquer writing brushes complete the set.
The surface and sides of the lacquered tray are carved with different geometric patterns, while the table has four curved feet and sculpted sides decorated with deeply carved lotus scrolls in typical Qianlong-period style.
