Page 54 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

Picnic Box
19th
Qing dynasty, century
inlaid with
Zitan wood with metal corner mounts,
and
stones
mother-of-pearl semiprecious
H. 91 /8 in. (23.2 cm)
Gft of Mr. and Mrs. William corbus, 1977
1977.262a-g
icnic boxes have long been used to carry
refreshments on pleasure outings,
along
as demonstrated in a woodblock illustration for
a popular romance novel published in the late
sixteenth century (fig. 2). This picnic box is
constructed of iitan and reinforced with metal
hardware. It is outfitted with three stacked
trays, one hidden flat tray, and a flat cover,
which is fastened to the sides of a humped han-
dle with a long wooden pin. The hardness of
iitan makes it an excellent material for receiv-
ing inlaid decoration, which covers the entire
box and comprises mother-of-pearl, various
semiprecious stones, and contrasting wood.

The designs on this picnic box appealed to pine grow two lingihi, the magical fungi of
popular taste for the fantastic and auspicious. immortality.
The upper side of the cover displays a scene of The sides of the trays are adorned with
of
combat between two figures, both bearing sprigs flowers, leaves, and fruits, all with
swords, and probably illustrates an episode auspicious allusions, arranged horizontally in a
from a popular story of chivalries. Riding on seminatural fashion. On the top tray, a branch
a cloud in the upper left corner, a female figure of tianjhu (heavenly bamboo, Nandina domes-
exercises her supernatural power to attack her tica) on the left and the fungus in the center
mounted opponent with a pair of scissors. combine to make a verbal pun, "tianran ruyi"
This scene captures the split second in which (naturally, you wish). The pomegranates on
as
2.
Fig. Carrying a bamboo picnic box, from Xihuji the swordsman makes a narrow escape, while the middle tray symbolize progeny. The four
(Romance of the West Lake), Ming dynasty, Wanli his steed is about to fall victim to the gigantic gardenia blossoms on the bottom tray suggest
period ( 573-I620), Guangqingtang edition. Wood- shears. The action on the left is balanced in the "siji ping'an" (peace throughout the four sea-
block print, ink on paper, after Zhou Wu,Jinling
a
Gukbanhua (Ancient Woodblock Prints from Jinling lower right corner by pine, symbolic of lon- sons). The base and handle are decorated with
[Nanjing]), Nanjing: Jiangsu meishu chubanshe, gevity and constancy, bearing many cones, florets of mother-of-pearl. WAS
1993. Department of Asian Art Library symbolic of abundant progeny. Under the
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