It’s not too often that I buy a piece of Asian lacquerware, but this early 19th c. hand-painted Chinese export tea caddy struck me as so fine and so lovely that I could not resist. And, since finding it, I found a very very similar one listed sold on 1st Dibs for $6000, albeit containing its original pewter canisters inside. The exterior is decorated overall in black lacquer with fantastic finely hand-painted gilt floriate pattern all over plus tiny crosses around the perimeter edges and hand-painted scenes as cartouche at the center of top, front and sides. My favorite though may actually be the wonderfully graphic hand-painted gold vines and berries on the back, reminding me of patterns on kimono. With a hinged lid that is in good shape and interior divided into two compartments. Really lovely.
8 1/4” w x 5 1/2” d x 5 3/8” t. There is all over craquelure to the lacquer at a little loss to corner edges, but it is stable and sound and not fragile and all the more radiant in person.
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