Red carved lacquer “five bats holding longevity” snuff bottle

[Red carved lacquer “Five Bats Holding Life” snuff bottle]

Red carved lacquer “Five Bats Holding Life” snuff bottle, Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, 1.9 cm in diameter and 7 cm in height
The snuff bottle has a large mouth, a large shoulder, a flat belly and a small drum, a flat bottom, and a very short circle foot. The inner part is made of copper, and the neck and abdomen are carved with red lacquer Swastika characters and five bats holding longevity patterns on the ground. With a silver lotus petal pattern inlaid with a tourmaline cover, the cover is connected with an ivory spoon. The mouth and feet are gilded. The knife is fast and sharp, and the decoration is fine and delicate. It has the remarkable characteristics of the lacquer carving in the Qianlong Dynasty. The five bats around the pictorial longevity character all adopt a top-down composition. Although the design is slightly stiff, similar patterns are common on other official artifacts, which can be regarded as a typical palace style
The so-called carved paint is to paint the upper layer of the prepared wooden tire, and then carve the patterns with clear layers and prominent themes after reaching a certain thickness. Since each layer of paint must be dried to a certain degree before painting can continue, and each carved painting work in the Qianlong Dynasty must be painted with at least 50 layers, its production cycle is much longer than that of porcelain or jade, and the number of finished products is relatively small
This carved lacquer snuff bottle should have been made in the reign of Emperor Qianlong, after being painted by the Qing Palace Office and handed over to Suzhou for weaving.