A PARCEL-GILT SILVER SHELL-FORM BOX AND COVER TANG DYNASTY

modelled in the form of a shell, the exterior engraved with birds in flight amongst scattered floral sprays and mountains, all reserved on a ring-punched ground, the hinged cover similarly decorated, Japanese wood box

Mayuyama & Co. Ltd., Tokyo. 

Chūgoku bijutsu ten series: Sui Tō no bijutsu [Chinese art exhibition series: The art of the Sui and Tang Dynasties], Osaka Art Museum, Osaka, 1976, cat. no. 222.
Tokubetsu tenji gō. Higashi Asia no futamono [Special exhibition box and cover. Eastern Asian box and cover], Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Osaka, 1984, cat. no. 14.

Ryūsen Shūhō. Sōgyō shichijū shūnen kinen/Mayuyama: Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 2, pl. 81.

The hinge between box and cover has broken, there are minor nibbles and corrosion to the edge of the rim of the cover and a 3mm., diam., area of corrosion to the exterior rim of the box, otherwise in good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Silver boxes in the form of clam shells were an innovation of the Tang dynasty and were used to hold cosmetic powder. Two boxes of this form, decorated with geese over a punched ground were excavated near Xi’an in Shaanxi province, illustrated in Han Wei and Christian Deydier, Ancient Chinese Gold, Paris, 2001, pls 359-363; one with birds in flight among a leafy scroll, in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, was included in the exhibition Chinese Gold & Silver in American Collections, The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, 1984, cat. no. 40; another is illustrated in Chinese Art from the Collection of H.M. King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden, Tokyo, 1971, pl. 37; and a further box was sold in these rooms, 24^th March 1955, lot 55.