18TH CENTURY

The techniques of qiangjin, incised lines filled with gold, and tianqi, or 'filled-in' colored lacquer, were often combined during the Ming dynasty, when they were especially popular. They continued to be used in the Qing dynasty. An identical box and cover of this type and form is in the Palace Museum, Beijing and illustrated in Zhongguo Qiqi Quanji, vol. 6, Beijing, 1993, pl. 138. Another similar box and cover decorated with a dragon surrounded by lotus scroll and key fret band, dated eighteenth century was included in the exhibition, The Arts of the Ch'ing Dynasty, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1963-64, no. 377.