a very fine oval bamboo box and cover 17th century

the box and cover of flattened oval form, intricately carved in deep undercut-relief around the top and sides with clusters of pine-needles issuing from delicate meandering branches, the cover with three playful squirrels perched upon the pine, all against a bark-diaper ground, the interior lacquered black, the base with incised flame motifs, of reddish-brown tone and deep patina, Japanese wood box (3)

Collection of George de Menasce.
Spink & Son, Ltd., 1971.

Selections from the Lutz Bamboo Collection, Denver Art Museum, Denver, 1979, cat.no. 23, p. 29.
Mikimoto Exhibition, Tokyo, 1987, no. 105.

George de Menasce Collection, Part I, Spink & Son, Ltd., 1971, no. 48.

In good condition. One of the squirrel's tails has been reglued. The interiors have been relacquered and some of it is peeling, revealing the old lacquer and possibly red ink stains underneath.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The squirrel, a symbol of reproductive power, and the pine tree, an auspicious symbol of longevity, were both  popular motifs during the Ming and Qing periods.

Compare a bamboo box and cover, signed with the mark of the carver Tong Yizhi and dated to the 12th year of the Yongle reign (1414 A.D.), but possibly of a later date, illustrated in Ip Yee and Laurance C.S. Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, Hong Kong, Part 1, 1978, fig. 6, p. 139, and sold in our London rooms, 14th December 1976, lot 231. Another related example with an inkstone, in The Mary and George Bloch Collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 2nd December 1989, lot 69, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 108.

See also three closely related boxes and covers, one illustrated in Shoudu bowuguan (Capital Museum Collection), Beijing, 2001, pp. 192-193; another from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Soame Jenyns, illustrated in R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Art: The Minor Arts II, London, 1965, pl. 206; and a third in the Victoria and Albert Museum, signed Deng Fujia, a notable bamboo carver active in the Qianlong period, illustrated in Chinese Art and Design, London, 1991, p. 23.