A gold cylindrical container, Liao dynasty | 遼 金鏨卷草紋蓋筒

A nearly identical case to the present was excavated from the tomb of the Princess of Chen and Xiao Shaoju, dated to 1018 or earlier, and included in Gilded Splendor, Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907-1123), Asia Society, New York, 2006, cat. no. 24, where the author discusses the social significance attached to ownership of these valuable cases, and the possible uses for the form. Sometimes described as a 'needle case', it seems likely that these containers held a variety of small tools and implements for personal use. The form enjoyed enduring popularity among the elite, a Ming dynasty example, now in the Nanjing Museum, excavated from the tomb of Ma Rui (buried 1627) is illustrated in Power and Glory: Court Arts of the China's Ming Dynasty, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, 2016, cat. no. 17.