Small Chinese Lacquer Tea Box, Circa 1820

Chinese box forming a tea chest.

Decorated with scenes of tea preparation and trade, for export, this small Chinese lacquer box is decorated with names of different varieties of tea, sometimes poetic names or towns.

For example, on the top lid: on the left,

mei shou – longevity leaves

Oolong

in the middle:

lung jing – dragon well (green tea with very expensive leaves)

shui xian -- Water Fairy

Liu An – tea of ​​the six harmonies.

And on the right: possibly Jinchang tea or glorious flower

The other sides are decorated with scenes similar to the goods packed in boxes, sometimes bearing other names of tea.

The gilded scenes on a black lacquer background are framed with black lacquer fillets and fillets of leafy friezes in gilded lacquer.

The interior reveals a decoration of leafy bouquets on the lid and an inner box in chiseled pewter, with geometric decoration of circles and foliage and a central scene representing two seated Chinese.

It opens with a round ivory zipper.

The belt is decorated with a diamond-shaped keyhole Work circa 1820

Dimensions: H 10 cm x W 21.5 cm x D 15 cm