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Lot Essay
The inscription may be read, Yu bi xiu de xiu xing lun, which may be translated, 'A discussion of the Imperial code of ethics and conduct.'
A very similar Qianlong-period zitan box and cover, also inlaid with a mother-of-pearl inscription, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Imperial Packing Art of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2000, p. 117, no. 35. See, also, the similarly carved box and cover sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 23 October 2005, lot 391; and, the cover to a box of this type, inlaid with a twelve-character inscription, sold in these rooms, 15 September 2009, lot 234.
A very similar Qianlong-period zitan box and cover, also inlaid with a mother-of-pearl inscription, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Imperial Packing Art of the Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2000, p. 117, no. 35. See, also, the similarly carved box and cover sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 23 October 2005, lot 391; and, the cover to a box of this type, inlaid with a twelve-character inscription, sold in these rooms, 15 September 2009, lot 234.