Items Similar to Rare Chinese Tonkin Ware Shakudo Sawasa Erotic Tobacco Box

19th Century Chinese Lacquer Jewelry Box

Meiji Period Satsuma Patch Box

18th Century Chinese Beijing enamel snuff box

Antique 19th Century Export Chinese Lacquer Gaming Box

Erotic Chinese Baitong Opium Box, c. 1850

19th Century Chinese Export Lacquer Tea Caddy

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 3

Rare Chinese Tonkin Ware Shakudo Sawasa Erotic Tobacco Box

$34,262.12

£25,681.59

€29,000

CA$47,070.34

A$52,549.60

CHF 27,535.20

MX$643,258.72

NOK 349,697.34

SEK 329,720.19

DKK 220,758.58

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

More From This Seller

View All

Rare 17th Century Japanese Export Lacquer Medical Instrument Box

Located in Amsterdam, NL

A rare Japanese export lacquer medical instrument box Edo-period, 1650-1700 L. 19 x W. 6 x H. 8.5 cm This unconventionally shaped lacquer b...

Category

Antique 17th Century Japanese Edo Lacquer

Materials

Gold

Rare 17th Century Japanese Export Lacquer Medical Instrument Box

$41,350

Free Shipping

An oval Japanese export lacquer tray

Located in Amsterdam, NL

An oval Japanese export lacquer tray decorated with the alliance of the coats of arms of the Mooyaart and Pauw families Edo-period, circa 1798 L. 51.5 x B. 37.5 x H.3.2 cm This tra...

Category

Antique 18th Century Japanese Lacquer

Materials

Lacquer

An oval Japanese export lacquer tray

$4,962

Fine Japanese Namban Lacquer Jewelry Casket, 17th Century

Located in Amsterdam, NL

Japanese Namban lacquer transition-style coffer with two drawers Kyoto/Nagasaki, circa 1650 The cartouches with gilt and red decorations of leaves...

Category

Antique 17th Century Japanese Edo Lacquer

Materials

Cypress

Fine Japanese Namban Lacquer Jewelry Casket, 17th Century

$18,903

Free Shipping

A superb Japanese export lacquer writing box

Located in Amsterdam, NL

Kyoto, circa 1680 The writing box has bevelled edges and a kabusebuta (overhanging lid), and is completely covered in black lacquer in maki-e and decorated in gold, silver and red h...

Category

Antique 17th Century Japanese Lacquer

Materials

Lacquer

A superb Japanese export lacquer writing box

$49,621

A small Japanese export lacquer circular box with a depiction of the Muiderpoort

Located in Amsterdam, NL

Nagasaki, Edo period, 1st half 19th century Of circular form decorated in gold hiramaki-e on a black-lacquered ground, the lid depicts the Muiderpoort, a city gate of Amsterdam, aft...

Category

Antique 19th Century Japanese Lacquer

Materials

Lacquer

A small Japanese export lacquer circular box with a depiction of the Muiderpoort

$4,536

Extremely Fine and Rare 17th-Century Japanese Export Lacquer and Inlaid Cabinet

Located in Amsterdam, NL

An extremely fine and important Japanese lacquer cabinet with gilt-copper mounts for the European market Edo period, late 17th century The pictorial style decorated rectangular...

Category

Antique Late 17th Century Japanese Lacquer

Materials

Brass

Extremely Fine and Rare 17th-Century Japanese Export Lacquer and Inlaid Cabinet

Price Upon Request

Free Shipping

Antique 19th Century Chinese Qing Lacquer

Materials

Lacquer

19th Century Chinese Lacquer Jewelry Box

$1,880

Meiji Period Satsuma Patch Box

Located in Hudson, NY

This small detailed work made between 1890 and 1900 is skillfully painted representing a court lady in regal costumes being attended to by a small child carrying a bolt of silk cloth. This centered in a medallion where the raised decoration is heavily embellished with gold and patterned details. The round outer area is done in a cobalt blue with more goldwork designs and the interior of the box holds small painted objects as symbols of refinement and or beauty. The box is signed by the painter's hand but as yet we have not translated or matched it to a specific maker's work. Wares of this type are most often produced in the city of Kagoshima in Kyushu province during the Meiji period and reflects the export industry designed to cater to western tastes but not particularly bought by Japanese citizens. Patch boxes...

Category

Antique Late 19th Century Japanese Ceramics

Materials

Ceramic

Meiji Period Satsuma Patch Box

$550

18th Century Chinese Beijing enamel snuff box

Located in Basildon, GB

An 18th Century Chinese Beijing enamel snuff box finely painted to the lid and sides with typical Chinese scenes, the base painted with a leafy gourd. The lid is mounted in gilt bron...

Category

Antique 18th Century Chinese Qing Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

18th Century Chinese Beijing enamel snuff box

$10,205

Antique 19th Century Export Chinese Lacquer Gaming Box

Located in Brea, CA

Antique 19th century export Chinese lacquer gaming box with hand painted scenes gilt export black lacquer with 4 pair of two dragons playing a ball, the...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing Lacquer

Materials

Lacquer

Antique 19th Century Export Chinese Lacquer Gaming Box

$3,880

Erotic Chinese Baitong Opium Box, c. 1850

Located in Chicago, IL

A petite white brass (baitong) canister once used to store a smoker's personal supply of opium paste. Dated to the 19th-century, the box is an example of Qing-dynasty erotica, incorp...

Category

Antique Mid-19th Century Chinese Qing More Asian Art, Objects and Furniture

Materials

Brass

Erotic Chinese Baitong Opium Box, c. 1850

$800

19th Century Chinese Export Lacquer Tea Caddy

Located in Mt Kisco, NY

The burgundy / brown lacquer is decorated with gold depicting figures and buildings in a landscape. The caddy stands on four carved wooden feet in the shape of claws. The interior contains a single pewter canister...

Category