Ɏ A TORTOISESHELL ‘PROVINCIAL LIFE’ BOX AND COVER, LATE 18TH CENTURY Ɏ A TORTOISESHELL ‘PROVINCIAL LIFE’ BOX AND COVER, LATE 18TH CENTURY China. The tall oval case finely carved in relief with intricate scenes of Chinese provincial life in a forested mountain setting, all among pagodas and trees. One side inlaid in mixed metal with kiku blossoms and the rims lined in metal. Provenance: From a private collection in Zagreb, Croatia. Condition: Good condition with minor wear and natural imperfections. Age cracks, tiny chips, and minuscule losses. The metal fittings slightly loose. One kiku inlay lost. Weight: 118 g Dimensions: Height 14.4 cm Auction comparison: Compare a closely related tortoiseshell card case decorated with scenes of provincial life, 11 cm high, at Bonhams Sydney, 18 November 2012, lot 155 (sold for AUD 3,416 or approx. EUR 2,900 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.

Estimate 250 - 500 EUR

Starting price 250 EUR

* Not including buyer’s premium.
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For sale on Thursday 05 Sep : 11:00 (CEST)

vienna, Austria

Galerie Zacke
+4315320452

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Life of Pius IX. Gangel print factory, Metz. (Circa 1850). Life of Pius IX. Gangel Print Factory, Metz. (ca. 1850). Cardboard box, format 27.5 x 35.5 x 2.5 cm. Colorized and gummed lithograph on the lid: J. M. Mastaï is a soldier. The box contains three puzzle boards. Puzzle game on the theme of the life of Pope Pius IX. Three lithographed boards, colored and erased, cut into jigsaw pieces: Birth of Pius IX in Sinigaglia / J.M. Mastaï is a cardinal / J.M. Mastaï is elected pope. The cover image is not included. Captions in French and Spanish. Image on cover a little dirty.

Lot 12

Estim. 1 500 - 3 000 EUR

MIURA KENYA: A SUPERB CERAMIC BOX (TOBAKO) AND LACQUERED WOOD COVER MIURA KENYA: A SUPERB CERAMIC BOX (TOBAKO) AND LACQUERED WOOD COVER By Miura Kenya (1821-1889), signed Rokusei Kenzan Japan, 19 th century, Edo period (1615-1868) The rectangular ceramic box with a reddish-brown glaze along the sides and a milky-white glaze to the interior and base, painted with three seals on the interior. The lacquered wood lid worked in gold and kawari-nuri takamaki-e and further embellished with ceramic inlays, depicting scholar’s objects including a seal stamp, two paintbrushes, the tip of one inlaid in mother-of-pearl, and a suzuri (ink stone). The interior of the cover signed ROKUSEI KENZAN. SIZE 14.5 x 11.7 x 3.9 cm Condition: Very good condition with only very minor wear. Miura Kenya (1825-1889), known as Kenya I, led a versatile life: first as a maker of clay dolls, then travelling to Nagasaki in 1854 to work on the first Japanese steamboat, in 1869 producing the first Japanese bricks, and from 1875 producing pottery at the Chomeiji in Tokyo. In an inscription on one of his inro he calls himself the last pupil of Ritsuo, and he was also strongly influenced by the style of Kenzan. See Earle, Joe [ed.] (1995) The Index of Inro Artists, p. 125.

Lot 14

Estim. 2 000 - 4 000 EUR

A VERY RARE AND SUPERB INLAID LACQUER BOX AND COVER DEPICTING LUNAR HARES A VERY RARE AND SUPERB INLAID LACQUER BOX AND COVER DEPICTING LUNAR HARES Japan, 19 th century Of rounded rectangular form, the kinji ground finely decorated in gold, silver, and copper takamaki-e, hiramaki-e, and togidashi with kirigane as well as inlays of aogai (mother-of-pearl) to depict two hares amid leafy chrysanthemums, lilies, other flowers, and clovers as well as craggy rocks, the cover further with three silver-lacquered kana characters in cursive script (ashide) reading ‘Tsuki no yo’ (‘The moon at night’). The hares’ eyes are inlaid with coral and amber. The base and interior of nashiji, the interior with gold fundame edges, the rims of silver. SIZE 7 x 15.3 x 11.6 cm Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear. Provenance: The Strong National Museum of Play, accession number 75.1892 (lacquered to the base). Old collector’s label ‘#16’ to base. Margaret Woodbury Strong (1897-1969) grew up in a prosperous family of collectors. Her interests ranged so widely that by 1960 she had amassed more than 27,000 collectible items and works of art. The vast majority of her collections related in some way to play and as her collection grew, Margaret planned a museum to house it. It eventually opened to the public in 1982 and grew dramatically over the following decades, expanding its collections, facilities, and resources, now spanning over 285,000 square feet. Today, the Strong National Museum of Play (known as just The Strong Museum or simply The Strong) is the only collections-based museum in the world devoted solely to the study of play. The inscription on the present box, coupled with the two hares, is an allusion to the lunar hare, a mythical figure who lives on the moon in Far Eastern folklore, based on pareidolia interpretations that identify the dark markings on the near side of the moon as a rabbit or hare. This popular motif originates in China, where the rabbit is often portrayed as a companion of the moon goddess Chang’e, constantly pounding the elixir of life for her. In the Japanese variation, the lunar hare is often seen pounding mochi.

Lot 1662

Estim. 500 - 1 000 EUR

Ɏ A COLLECTION OF IVORY GAMES, WITH FITTED LACQUER BOX, 19TH CENTURY Ɏ A COLLECTION OF IVORY GAMES, WITH FITTED LACQUER BOX, 19TH CENTURY China. The box fitted with a silk organizer tray comprising a variety of games including a tangram and other puzzles with Chinese and Christian symbols throughout. The box lacquered in black and decorated to the top of the cover with a central medallion depicting a palace scene with courtiers and floral decorations to each corner, set with two metal handles and a locking mechanism with key. The box further with old woodblock print Chinese instructions on the Tangram game. Provenance: Danish private collection, by repute acquired from Bruun Rasmussen. According to the owner previously sold at Sotheby’s London. A copy of a letter describing the box and declaring that the games were appraised by the director Peter Pluntky of the Toy Museum of Stockholm as unique, accompany this lot. Fragments of two newspaper articles about a Sotheby’s auction on Danish toys, accompany this lot. A business card from Director Peter Pluntky, Stockholms Leksaksmuseum (The Toy Museum), accompanies this lot. Condition: Good condition with old wear, small losses, chips, and flaking of the lacquer. The ivory pieces with little wear. Weight: 3,597 g Dimensions: Size 41.5 x 29 x 11.1 cm Trade Certificate: In accordance with new EU regulations that went into effect in January 2022, we have applied for a certificate to sell this item within the EU. We expect the Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology to issue the certificate in 4-8 weeks. The item can only be shipped / handed over once the certificate has been issued. This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.

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