Lot 253
253
AN UNUSUAL CANTONESE SANDALWOOD WORK BOX AND COVER
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more VARIOUS PROPERTIES
AN UNUSUAL CANTONESE SANDALWOOD WORK BOX AND COVER

19TH CENTURY

Details
AN UNUSUAL CANTONESE SANDALWOOD WORK BOX AND COVER
19TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form with canted corners, the exterior and cover finely and intricately carved in relief with shaped panels depicting figures in gardens, reserved on a lower relief ground decorated with large birds amongst flowers and foliage, the lower half of the box tapering towards the foot with a shallow two-compartmented drawer, all resting on four short stylised paw feet, the flat cover with sloping sides similarly carved and opening to reveal a tray comprising numerous compartments, some having covers with ivory finials, others with fitted tops to house the numerous ivory sewing utensils
14½ x 10¾ x 6 5/8 in. (37 x 27.5 x 17 cm.)
Literature
Ben Janssens Oriental Art, Export Works of Art from China & the East, 1998, exhibition catalogue, no. 47.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Sandalwood work boxes appear to be extremely rare; such boxes are most frequently found in ivory or lacquer. The drawer in the present example may well have contained brushes and watercolours; see Carl L. Crossman, The Decorative Arts of The China Trade, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1991, pp. 278-9, for a unique Chinese export lacquer workbox, discovered with all its contents in tact, op.cit. plate 155, which has similar compartments to the drawer of the box in the present lot, and which was found to contain brushes and watercolour paints contained in blanc-de-chine cups.

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