A MOTHER-OF-PEARL INLAID LACQUER INGOT-SHAPED BOX AND COVERQianlong four-character mark and of the periodThe cover finely inlaid with a landscape scene in which a peacock perched in a pine tree growing from jagged rockwork looks down at a dragonfly in flight beside large sprays of iris in the foreground, the rim of the box and cover both inlaid with a continuous diaper band, the interior of the box with a cluster oflingzhi, the interior of the cover inlaid with a design of three symbols likely representing stylised rhinoceros horns, box.6.4cm (2 1/2in) long (3).Provenance: 清乾隆 嵌螺鈿花鳥紋銀錠式小蓋盒　嵌「乾隆年製」篆書款Provenance:Christie's London, 4 December 1995, lot 340Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 3067來源：倫敦佳士得，1995年12月4日，拍品340香港佳士得，2011年11月30日，拍品3067Qianlong-marked examples of lac burgauté wares are exceedingly rare. It is rare to find reign marks on mother-of-pearl inlaid boxes although some examples can be found with a maker's mark of Qian Li, see a pair of boxes and covers in the current sale: inscribed and attributed to the Jiang Qianli Workshop, lot 124, a rare pair of mother-of-pearl boxes and covers. Another Qianlong-marked mother-of-pearl inlaid ruyi-shaped box and cover was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3579.The unusual form of this box and cover is based on a silver ingot, a tradable currency during the Ming and Qing periods, as well as a symbol of wealth. The form may have its origin in earlier lacquer wares, see a Ming dynasty Jiajing-marked qianjin polychrome 'dragon and phoenix' box also in the form of an ingot in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Theplete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, pl.152.盒銀錠式，隨形圈足，通體以黑光漆為地，嵌螺鈿花鳥紋，一孔雀佇立於松樹上盯著一只飛行中的蜻蜓，旁有鳶尾花生於石縫中，蓋與器的口邊飾半圓花紋，内底中央嵌有一或為犀牛角形狀的圖案，外底中央嵌楷書「乾隆年製」四字款。本盒所飾紋飾充滿了吉祥寓意，銀錠在中國貨幣史上曾被稱為「元寶」，是中國傳統吉祥紋飾「八寶」之一，象徵財富。銀錠式漆器始見於較早期漆器，參考清宮舊藏一件明嘉靖帶款的戧金彩漆龍鳳紋銀錠式盒，見《故宮博物館藏文物珍品全集：元明漆器》，上海，2006年，圖版152。此盒造型仿明嘉靖銀錠式器物，甚至更加精緻華麗，反映出乾隆年間嵌螺鈿的精湛工藝。帶款識的嵌螺鈿器尤其稀少，見本場一對江Õ...