A carved cinnabar lacquer octagonal box and cover, Ming dynasty, 16th century | 明十六世紀 剔紅壽老童子紋八方蓋盒

A closely related box in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, is illustrated in Catalogue of Chinese Lacquer, London, 1925, pl. 46. See also a box of this form with the sides carved with immortals, sold at Christie’s New York, 19th September 2007, lot 117, and another of slightly smaller size decorated on the sides with birds and flowers, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Shanghai, 2006, pl. 110.