18TH-19TH CENTURY

Standard zitan boxes are left unadorned, with the metal mounts providing the only decorative elements. It is rare to find such an elaborately carved example. A larger zitan box, dating to the Qianlong period, and carved with dragon and phoenix amidst scrollwork is illustrated in Zheng Nanwei et al., in The Most Noble Hardwood: Zi Tan Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, vol. 2, Beijing, 2016, no. 63. A similarly carved example in huanghuali was sold at Sotheby’s New York, 15 September 2015, lot 249.