A pair of white jade 'quail' boxes and covers, Qing dynasty, Qianlong period

Compare a similar pair of quail boxes in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, also with their heads turned but carved from a slightly yellowish stone and attributed to the Qianlong period, illustrated in James Watt, Chinese Jades from the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, 1989, pl. 73; see also a pair of boxes formerly in the collection of T.Y. Chao, sold in these rooms 19th November 1986, lot 144, and a matching box in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo yuqi quanji [Complete collection of Chinese jades], Shijiazhuang, 2005, vol. 6, pl. 106. Compare also a closely related example sold in these rooms, 23rd October 2005, lot 333.