The lively subject of 'boys at play' was popularised by the Southern Song dynasty court official Su Hanchen (active early 12th century), and prevailed to the Ming period when the decorative design transferred onto ceramics and lacquerware. By the mid-Ming dynasty, the number of boys multiplied to form the 'hundred boys' theme, thus providing an auspicious imagery of fraternity. Lacquer object with this amusing subject remained popular in the Qing dynasty, and lacquer pieces in the 16th-century style were produced for the court. Most of these pieces, however, showed the boys in a continuous scene, such as on a box cover or around a brushpot, unlike on the present lot where each cartouche on both jardinieres depicts a different detailed scene and activity.