Lot Essay
A similarly decorated box and cover in the Carl Kempe Foundation, was illustrated by Jan Wirgin, 'Some Chinese Carved Lacquer of the Yuan and Ming Periods', B.M.F.E.A., Stockholm, no, 44m 1972, no, 19, pl. 17, where the figure is identified as Western Asiatic.
Compare, also, the box and cover carved on one half with a similar scene of a foreigner and Buddhistic lion and on the other half with a different scene of two deer, included in the exhibition, Between Heaven and Earth, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1988, Catalogue, no. 36, where it is proposed that by having different scenes on each half, either may be the top or bottom.
Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, describes the scene as 'The Dancing Asiatic' and notes other examples of its appearance on lacquer objects, including Wang Shixiang, Ancient Chinese Lacquerware, pl. 57 a comparable box and cover dated Ming
(US$2,000-2,500)
Compare, also, the box and cover carved on one half with a similar scene of a foreigner and Buddhistic lion and on the other half with a different scene of two deer, included in the exhibition, Between Heaven and Earth, Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1988, Catalogue, no. 36, where it is proposed that by having different scenes on each half, either may be the top or bottom.
Clifford, Chinese Carved Lacquer, describes the scene as 'The Dancing Asiatic' and notes other examples of its appearance on lacquer objects, including Wang Shixiang, Ancient Chinese Lacquerware, pl. 57 a comparable box and cover dated Ming
(US$2,000-2,500)