A CINNABAR-LACQUER 'QUATREFOIL' BOX, China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

h cm 7 x l cm 16

Lobed with four petals, finely carved in high relief against a ground incised with a honeycomb pattern, depicting a scene of a man in a garden playing the flute, surrounded by a kirin and a boy holding a ruyi; the sides are decorated with vine scrolls bearing peaches, pomegranates, and Buddha’s hand citrons.