Despite his not so powerful personality, Daoguang tried to end the opium trade of the British, but in vain. Opium was already used during the reigns of the Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors. But during Emperor Daoguang’s reign, its use grew exponentially. Daoguang banned the import of opium and sent high-ranking officials Lin Zexu to Guangzhou to stop the illegal trade in opium. The English did not give up and declared war on the Chinese. This war was called the First Opium War (1839-1842) and ended with the humiliating Treaty of Nanking in 1842. Shown is a beautiful porcelain jewelery box with lid, hand painted in underglaze blue and white. It depicts a dragon decor, completely filled in with floral curly stems. The edge of the lid is trimmed with a key fred pattern. The inside is glazed, some parts are not where iron deposition is visible. There are some minimal flakes at the level of some corners and also internally there is an elongated flake defect. The blue color has faded here and there. At the bottom we see in high relief part of a wax export stamp. This seal is an “Export approval mark” and is called a “Jianding”. They were issued from about 1949 and are still set on old-looking porcelain that is allowed to be exported from China. This beautiful object dates from the Qing dynasty, Daoguang imperial period, 1821-1850.

Condition: some injuries as described above, but overall in good condition.