Black lacquered wood and gold leaf
Southeast Asia? For the Portuguese Market
Late16th/early 17th century
43 x 77,5 x 49,5 cm

Large, black lacquer and gilt box (now worn) with a full compartment under the lid and three drawers behind a fall-front. The exterior and the drawer fronts are carved in a shallow pattern of scrolling foliage of Chinese inspiration. The interior is decorated in a Chinese type gilt design of birds and deer amongst rocks and plants, over a red lacquer ground.
A number of boxes of this type have Chinese characters drawn on the underside of one of the drawers. This is not surprising as many of the workshops producing such items in Southeast Asia were found in long established Chinese communities.

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