TANG DYNASTY (AD 618-907)

The decoration of a pair of mandarin ducks on this box can be seen on other small silver boxes of Tang date, such as the example of even smaller size (2.9 cm.) illustrated in World of the Heavenly Khan: Treasures of the Tang Dynasty, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2002, p. 56. Unlike the pair of ducks on the present box, which are shown confronted, these ducks are shown standing side-by-side on a lotus leaf. A pair of confronted ducks standing on a lotus decorates the top of a parcel-gilt silver box excavated in 1970 from Prince Bin's treasure hoard at Hejiacun, Shaanxi province, illustrated by Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, p. 229, pls. 546-547. As one can see in pl. 547, the bottom of the box has different decoration, as does the bottom of the present box. A pair of mandarin ducks, especially when combined with lotus (yuanyang), conveys the wish for a harmonious marriage, making it fitting decoration for a lady's silver box.