1 of 2

Rare Chinese Tonkin Ware Shakudo Sawasa Erotic Tobacco Box

$34,473.48List Price

About the Item

A ruyi-shaped Shakudo-style erotic tobacco or snuff box, relief-decorated with silvered applied figures Possibly Jakarta (Batavia), first half 18th century Measures: H. 2.2 x L. 12.1 x W. 8 cm This box is very much in the Dutch taste, for the illustration is after a print with a legend reading “L’oiseau sans cage. Prenez, belle, mon oiseau. C’est le plus doux présent que je puisse vous faire. Pour les autres oiseaux, la cage d’ordinaire est une espèce de tombeau. Mais le mien semble prendre une nouvelle vie, Lorsqu’il sera dans la cage de mon aimable Silvie.” The erotic message is as clear as can be. In Dutch culture the verb ‘vogelen’ (catching a bird) is another word for having sex and a bird escaping from his cage indicates loss of chastity. The lady with the bare breasts, while making the sign of sealed lips to the lady behind her, who is pointing towards heaven, seems to be caressing the bird held in the sleeping man’s groin. 17th century Dutch pictures and poetry are full of birds, and also dogs, with suggestive erotic meanings and the illustration on the present box certainly fits perfectly in this tradition. The shakudo-style of the box and the Dutch design decoration suggests that either Nagasaki or Batavia might be the place where this box was made for a Dutch client, either by Chinese or by Japanese craftsmen. When Japan closed itself off from the rest of the world in about 1640, the Japanese were not only prohibited from leaving the country but also Japanese abroad were forbidden to return. Some Japanese craftsmen remained outside Japan, in China, Tonkin and Batavia where they possibly continued to perform their ‘shakudo’ Japanese crafts, called ‘sawasa’ in Batavia. However, the ubiquitous Chinese certainly also mastered this technique. A similar box was auctioned at Bonhams Hong Kong, 24 November 2013, lot 6, in the sale of the ‘Speelman Collection of Imperial Tribute Snuff Boxes’. This box also has several erotic references; a European lady wearing loose clothing, with an exotic bird perched on her left hand, a man peeping and in the background a farmer spreading seedlings. The inside of the lid bearing a scene of two figures indulged in passionate kissing, flanked by a pair of doves. Surely, a Dutchman having a little tobacco or snuff with his friends, chuckled at this very erotic, though prudish, imagery.

Dimensions:
Height: 0.87 in (2.2 cm)Width: 4.77 in (12.1 cm)Depth: 3.15 in (8 cm)
Style:
Chinese Export (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Gold,Silver
Place of Origin:
China
Period:
Early 18th Century
Date of Manufacture:
1700-1750
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Amsterdam, NL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU5458222093022

Vintage 1930s Chinese Chinoiserie Metalwork

Materials

Metal, Enamel

Fish Scale Midnight Blue Chinese Cloisonne Tobacco Box 1930 s

$396 Sale Price

20% Off

H 4.69 in W 3 in D 3 in

Antique Chinese Export Silver Box by Wang Hing

By Wang Hing Co.

Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Chinese export silver dragon box; an addition to our collection of boxes and cases This fine antique C...

Category

Antique 19th Century Chinese Chinese Export Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver

Antique Chinese Export Silver Box by Wang Hing

$1,802

H 1.3 in Dm 3.5 in

Small Chinese Export Cloisonné Lidded Box decorated with peaches, Circa 1930

Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire

This is a very decorative Chinese Export cloisonné lidded box which we date to the 20th century, Circa 1930. The box has a cylindrical shape, with its original lid and is all beauti...

Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Metalwork

Materials

Bronze

Small Chinese Export Cloisonné Lidded Box decorated with peaches, Circa 1930

$308

H 1.6 in Dm 2.15 in

Chinese Etched Brass Box with Carved Jade Inset Top, Circa 1900

Located in Stamford, CT

Sweet little Chinese export brass box with beautiful floral etched designs, looks like peonies to me. With a lovely white jade top carved in fretwork with a vase framed by the flower...

Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Decorative Boxes

Materials

Jade, Brass

Chinese Etched Brass Box with Carved Jade Inset Top, Circa 1900

$775

H 2.5 in W 5.5 in D 4.5 in

Etched Chinese Opium Box, c. 1850

Located in Chicago, IL

A small brass canister once used to store a smoker's personal supply of opium paste. A keepsake from a bygone era, the small box dates to the 19th century and is decorated with etchi...

Category

Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Metalwork

Materials

Brass, Copper

Etched Chinese Opium Box, c. 1850

$168

H 2 in W 2.25 in D 1.25 in

Chinese Pewter Gourd Box, c. 1920s

Located in Chicago, IL

For one short decade, from around 1910 to 1920, pewter was all the rage in China’s bustling commercial centers of Shanghai and Canton. Drawn to pewter’s soft, silvery glow, artists t...

Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Art Deco Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass, Pewter

Chinese Pewter Gourd Box, c. 1920s

$380

H 3.5 in Dm 4 in

Chinese Lattice Top Incense Box, c. 1850

Located in Chicago, IL

This slender metal container is a 19th-century white brass incense burner, used for storing and burning incense sticks. The small box has a rectangular form and a removable sliding t...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Metalwork

Materials

Brass

Chinese Lattice Top Incense Box, c. 1850

$480

H 1.25 in W 7.25 in D 1.5 in

1890s Chinese Export Silver Locking Box

By Heng Li

Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Chinese export silver box with lock; an addition to our oriental silver collection. This exceptional antique Chinese Export Silver (CES) locking box has a rectangular form. The surface of this antique box with lock is embellished with a chased decorated matte texture with a variety of embossed and chased decorated stemmed floral and foliate designs to the sides, including cherry blossom and iris arrangements. The upper surface of the cover is ornamented with an embossed and chased decorated scene depicting a grassy terrain surrounding a tree with fan shaped leaves by the side of a winding stream, with a traditional Chinese crane...

Category

Antique 1890s Chinese Metalwork

Materials

Sterling Silver

1890s Chinese Export Silver Locking Box

$4,145

H 2.4 in W 6.1 in D 7.6 in

Chinese Lao Tian Li Cloisonne Cylindrical Box, Late Qing Dynasty, China

Located in Austin, TX

A delightful antique Chinese cloisonné cylindrical box and cover by Lao Tian Li, late Qing Dynasty, circa 1900, China. The box of cylindrical form and w...

Category

Antique Early 1900s Chinese Qing Metalwork

Materials

Brass, Copper, Enamel

Chinese Lao Tian Li Cloisonne Cylindrical Box, Late Qing Dynasty, China

$1,200

H 3.5 in Dm 3.5 in

Chinese Export Hardstone and Gilt Silver Filigree Peacock Box, 1920 s, China

Located in Austin, TX

An exquisite Chinese export peacock from hardstone and gilt silver filigree canister box, Republic Period, circa 1920's, China. The graceful and elegant hardstone container of cyli...

Category