Aeneas Anderson, Macartney’s valet, whose account of the Embassy was published in 1795, described the gifts given by the Qianlong Emperor as, ‘a number of callibash boxes of exquisite workmanship, beautifully carved on the outside, and stained a scarlet colour, of the utmost softness and delicacy’. The decoration, which is deeply carved into the many layers of vegetable lacquer, includes the five-clawed dragon reserved for use on imperial wares.