Large box with lid

Large boxes with covers served a wide range of functions from food containers to cosmetic cases to seal ink boxes. Popular from the Kangxi era was the practice of imitating Ming boxes in color and shape. In this case, except for the Ming mark, its embellishment with multiple borders was in the fashion of the early Qing dynasty. A dragon in a medallion on the top center is encircled by a series of bands of fungus, plums, and the four treasures panels on a trellis diaper ground. Four dragons chasing pearls on the upper part of the box were symmetrically aligned with the eight treasures over peach-heads floating on ocean waves on the lower box. The inscription on the base reads daming Chenghua nianzhi ("produced during the Chenghua period of the great Ming dynasty").