Qianli seal mark, Kangxi|Exquisitely decorated to the domed cover with a dignitary seated at leisure under a pine tree, accompanied by a boy attendant presenting a wine ewer, gazing at a spray of chrysanthemum planted in a jardinière, the conical box encircled with a continuous geometric band interspersed with small lotus flowers, on a concave base incised with a square cartouche to the interior enclosing seal script characters reading 'Qianli', Japanese wood box. 5.1cm (2in) diam. (3).|清康熙 黑漆螺鈿高士賞菊圖小香盒「千里」金文刻款Jiang Qianli was a renowned craftsman specialising in inlaid lacquer. Although he was traditionally thought to have lived during the late Ming period, recent scholarship has dated him more to the Kangxi period. The present lot shows a mastery of the skill and control required for such minutely detailed workmanship, as well as a pleasing exploration of varied textural patterns and colour of the mother of pearl. For a lobed box inlaid with the Qianli mark, see H.Moss, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, no.144. The conical shape, as seen on the present lot is very rare. Compare a related hexagonal mother-of-pearl inlaid box and cover, Ming dynasty, 17th century, similarly decorated to the cover with a garden scene depicting a boy attendant serving wine to a seated scholar, which was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2010, lot 2241.