A Rare Carved Red Lacquer Two-Tier Rectangular Box and Cover, Wanli Period, 16th-17th Century

A Rare Carved Red Lacquer Two-Tier Rectangular Box and Cover, Wanli Period, 16th-17th Century

The top and canted sides of the cover and the sides of the middle compartment well carved with scenes of boys at play (the Hundred Boys motif) in garden settings, with a narrow band of confronted chilong at the rim of the cover repeated at the rim of the bottom section above the lower sides that taper towards the foot and are carved with stems and branches of various flowers, all reserved on diaper grounds, the interiors and base in dark brown lacquer. 8¼ in. (21 cm.) long, box. Estimate $20,000 - $30,000

明萬歷 剔紅長方

Provenance; Sammy Y. Lee & Wangs Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, 1973.

Literature: Lee Yu-kuan, Oriental Lacquer Art, New York/Tokyo, 1972, p. 192, no. 124.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Art From The Arthur M. Sackler Collections. 18 March 2009  New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com Image Christie's Ltd 2009