A CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER DOCUMENT BOX AND COVER MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY

of rectangular form, the flat cover deeply and crisply carved with an immortal or scholar strolling with his attendant carrying a double-gourd vase on a stick, following a crane along a narrow path cutting over a lake, beneath flowering prunus trees and a bright red sun, the sides of the cover and the base carved with chrysanthemum florets and leaves, the interior and the base lacquered black

The cover of the present lot was carved in the format of a vertical landscape painting with the changes between land, sea and air depicted only through subtle variations of the grounds, just as in a painting the water, land and sky are represented through deft brushstrokes in light shades of gray. 

The fine carving of the prunus trees can also be seen on a small prunus box in the British Museum, illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Chinese Lacquer, London, 1979, fig. 65.