Lot 1185. A rare carved red lacquer lobed hexagonal four-tiered box and cover, 16th century; 6¼ in. (15.8 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 30,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2010.

The cover carved with a scholar seated in a waterside pavilion as he watches ducks swimming nearby, the sides of the cover and tiers carved through the red lacquer to an ochre ground with chrysathemum scroll, box, cloth pouch.

Prperty from the Estate of James H. Kelley.

Provenance: Acquired circa 1960s-1974, and thence by descent within the family.

Lot 1187. A rare carved red lacquer quatrefoil four-tiered box and cover, 16th century; 6¼ in. (15.8 cm.) high. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 30,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2010.

Of barbed outline, the top carved with a scene of scholars and attendants at a lake retreat, some inside a pavilion, the others in boats, the sides carved with panels of various flowers, and the spreading foot with classic scroll, box.

Prperty from the Estate of James H. Kelley.

Provenance: Acquired circa 1960s-1974, and thence by descent within the family.

Note: A four-tier square box and cover dated to the mid-Ming dynasty, carved with similar floral scroll on the sides and a waterscape on the cover, in the Qing Court collection, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Hong Kong, 2006, no. 82.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections, 26 March 2010, New York, Rockefeller Plaza