Description
This rectangular box can be separated lengthwise into a lid and body. The box has a short ring foot, and the body is somewhat thick. The sides are adorned with raised ridges painted in gold. The painting on the surface of the lid shows a Western maiden with three white goats. The surrounding walls of the lid slant outward and down, with four layers between the lid surface and the foot. Two layers are decorated with scroll grass patterns painted in white enamel pigment, and the other two layers are adorned with mirror-image designs. The sides of the ring foot are decorated with magenta square spiral patterns. On the underside of the box, four blue characters inscribed in Song-style script state, "Qian Long Nian Zhi (Made in the Qianlong Reign)." The inscription is surrounded by a double-square frame. In the second year of the Qianlong reign, the Imperial Workshop Archives report that the Qianlong Emperor ordered a snuff bottle with Western decorative patterns to be made. Although this work has a different pattern from that of the snuff bottle, the Western maiden depicted and the trees and village houses in the background, frequently seen in Western painted enamel works, similarly make use of size and placement so that elements in the foreground appear larger while those in the background appear smaller, despite the small size of the painting. This is indicative of the Western influences upon this decorative design.