Lacquered Presentation Box

This round lacquered box dates to the mid-19th century and would have been presented to another as a gift, filled with foods, clothes, or other ceremonial gifts. Remarkably, the two halves of this box are not a match and were likely combined from two separate boxes from the same maker. Each half is intricately painted with fine scholars' objects in a palette of blue, orange, and white atop a black lacquer under layer. The lid is painted with a watery landscape, perhaps depicting one of the many Great Flood narratives in Chinese mythology. Today, we love this storied lacquer box as an elegant hiding place for household clutter.

From the collection of Frances and Gary Comer.