19th Century Chinese Eternal Love Offering Box

Description

This ornately carved 19th-century offering box would have been presented as a gift filled with popular Chinese snacks, including roasted … more This ornately carved 19th-century offering box would have been presented as a gift filled with popular Chinese snacks, including roasted melon seeds, dried fruit, and soybeans toasted with cinnamon, fennel, and other spices. Offering fruits, floral filigrees, and geometric borders cover the wooden box, highlighted by a red-lacquered medallion circumscribing a lavish still life. Likely offered as a wedding gift, the box interior is adorned with a trailing floral motif formed as gilt abstract butterfly, a traditional symbol of lasting love. It is a standout for boxes of its kind—in twenty years, it is one of the most intricate and elaborate we have found. less