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An extremely rare rock crystal archaistic cosmetic box and a cover Song Dynasty or earlier image 1
An extremely rare rock crystal archaistic cosmetic box and a cover Song Dynasty or earlier image 2
The Property of a Gentleman
Lot 139

An extremely rare rock crystal archaistic cosmetic box and a cover
Song Dynasty or earlier

Fine Chinese Art
13 May 2010, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £8,400 inc. premium

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An extremely rare rock crystal archaistic cosmetic box and a cover

Song Dynasty or earlier
The circular box supported on a short foot ring, finely carved on the cover with a central medallion enclosing four lappets around the C scroll stamen, encircled by a raised band and a border of C scrolls interspersed with four taotie masks, the slanted shoulders with S scrolls, the sides with a wider C scroll border, the box carved with further foliate scrolls.
6cm (2⅜in) diam. (2).

Footnotes

Provenance: purchased in London in the 1960s, by repute

The present box is extremely rare and no other example appears to have been published. The intricacy of design and superb craftsmanship resemble that of Han Dynasty works of art, and particularly closely follows motifs found on Han Dynasty bronze mirrors. However, it is interesting to note that the Han design has been reduced to a tighter, more elaborate one than typically occurred on a Han carving. The form of the box and short foot recalls early ceramic cosmetic boxes of late Tang or Northern Song type.

The variation in design between the box and cover may suggest that the two pieces have been matched. However, this supposition may be contestable by other factors: the cover appears to fit the box perfectly; both sections are identically decorated with a secondary S scroll border, similarly incised on a slanted shoulder; the height of the box and cover appears to be identical at 2.1cm each.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
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FIVE BURMESE AND THAI GILTWOOD FIGURES OF BUDDHA Late 19th/20th century
TWO JAPANESE CELADON GLAZED STUDIO CERAMICS
Huang Shanshou (1855-1919) Dragons in Clouds
Birodo Yuzen Meiji era (1868-1912)
TWO JAPANESE BRONZE SCHOLAR'S OBJECTS Meiji/Taisho era
A KOREAN UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND COPPER-RED-DECORATED 'GRAPEVINE' GLOBULAR JAR Late Joseon dynasty
A JAPANESE SIX-PANEL 'FARM SCENE' FOLDING SCREEN Late 19th/early 20th century
A KOREAN FOUR-PANEL 'PEONIES AND CALLIGRAPHY' FOLDING SCREEN Late Joseon dynasty
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL 'LADIES' SNUFF BOTTLE, SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN 1919
A CHINESE YELLOW GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 19th century
A FAMILLE-ROSE ENAMELED PORCELAIN COVERED BALUSTER JAR 18th/19th century
A PAINTED LACQUERED-WOOD FOUR-DOOR CABINET Early 20th century