CHINE, DYNASTIE MING, XVIÈME SIÈCLE

The lychee motif, with its homophonic association to the word "profit" (li), symbolizes the wish for "great profit from small investment," reflecting people's aspirations for wealth.
Two very similar cinnabar lacquer boxes, also carved with lychee fruits, dating to the 16th century, are in the National Palace Museum Collection, exhibited in Carving the Subtle Radiance of Colors: Treasured Lacquerware in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, May-July 2008, catalogue nos. 48 and 49.