Round Box with Lid (c. 1760–70): Art, History and Details

Round Box with Lid (c. 1760–70) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This small lacquer box, made in France during the 1700s, references China in that it imitates Chinese material and craftmanship such as red lacquer and celadon. This round box with an inlaid key pattern (an interlocking geometric motif ), emulates the bright vermilion color of Chinese red lacquer, typical of Suzhou lacquer ware. The key pattern is reminiscent of the so-called Chinese thunder pattern (leiwen).

Object facts

• Title: Round Box with Lid
• Date: c. 1760–70
• Culture: France
• Type: Miscellaneous
• Technique: tortoiseshell decorated in red lacquer with inlays of gold, silver, and brass wire; contains a portrait miniature
• Dimensions: Diameter: 2.3 x 6.3 cm (7/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1988.48

Collection credit

In memory of Ruth Probala

Further reading listed by the museum

• “The Year in Review for 1988.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (1989): 30–75.
• Griswold, William, Xiaofei Tian, Richard Von Glahn, Feng Zhao, S. J. Vainker, Masaaki Itakura, Jiang Wu, et al. China’s Southern Paradise: Treasures from the Lower Yangzi Delta. Edited by Clarissa Von Spee. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.