17TH CENTURY

A detail of a dragon from a nearly identical chest is illustrated by Wang Shixiang, Zhongguo Gudai Qiqi, Beijing, 1987, no. 141, where it is dated to the Qing dynasty. In his discussion of the decoration of the illustrated example, Wang notes that the top and back of the chest have floral decoration, which can be seen on the present chest as well. Also of note is the fact that both the published example and the present chest are of closely related size and have very similar incised hardware, suggesting that the two chests may have come from the same workshop.