Round Red Lacquer box, China, 18th centuryMet Museum New YorkProvenance:  Ralph M. Chait G

Round Red Lacquer box, China, 18th century

Met Museum New York

Provenance:  Ralph M. Chait Galleries, Inc. New York, until 1989; sold to Irving]; Florence and Herbert Irving , New York (1989–2015; donated to MMA)

ø 13 ¼ in. (33.7 cm)

The Qianlong Emperor (1711 –  1799) commissioned at least eighteen versions of this lacquer box. He was the sixth Emperor of the Qing dynasty. Like his predecessors, took his cultural role seriously. The Qianlong Emperor was a major patron and important “preserver and restorer” of Confucian culture. He collected ancient bronzes, bronze mirrors, seals, pottery, metal work as well as lacquer work, which flourished during his reign. A substantial part of his collection is in the Percival David Foundation in London. 

[text source: @wikipedia]