清乾隆 剔紅蝙蝠紋筆盒|Presentation box for a brush
Unknown Artist
Medium
Carved red lacquer
Dimensions
Box (bottom): H. 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm); W. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm); L. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm) Lid: H. 9/16 in. (1.4 cm); W. 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm); L. 12 1/8 in. (30.8 cm) Box closed: H. 2 in. (5.1 cm)
Classification
Lacquer
Culture & Period
China · Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Qianlong period (1736–95)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of A. W. Bahr, 1958
Accession Number
58.64.19c, d
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite carved red lacquer presentation box for a brush was created during China’s Qing dynasty, specifically in the Qianlong period (1736–95), a time renowned for imperial patronage of the decorative arts. The elongated form, designed to hold a scholar’s writing brush, reflects the high value placed on calligraphy and literati culture in eighteenth-century China. Its surface features intricately carved bats—a motif whose name, *fu*, is a homophone for “good fortune”—symbolizing wishes for happiness and prosperity. The medium of *tihong*, or carved red lacquer, involves applying dozens...