Note: This box is notable for the intricately carved central scene and panels of scrolling tendrils and only one other example of this type, and possibly the companion to the present box, is known, sold at Christie's New York, 15th September 2009, lot 228. Expertly crafted in bamboo-veneer (tiehuang), this technique was developed during the Qianlong reign and enabled craftsmen to break free from the confines of the circular shape of the bamboo stem to produce a broad range of objects of various shapes. The process involved taking the inner wall of the bamboo stem which is of a lighter yellow colouration and applying it over a wood core which is then left plain or carved in shallow relief to achieve an elaborate, often two-tone, effect.  

The original Gengzhi tu ('Illustrations of Ploughing and Weaving') was compiled by Lou Shou (1090-1162) during the Song dynasty (960-1279) depicting agricultural and sericultural scenes and was considered a reference to both practical farming and as a metaphor for a well-ordered Confucian society. It was first published around 1237 and contained 45 illustration accompanied by poems. Many subsequent emperors produced new editions of the illustrations, and the present scene draws from a series of paintings by the court painter Jiao Bingzhen created at the request of the Kangxi emperor in 1690.