WF 87 A Pair Of Zitan Inlaid Covered Boxes

十九世紀 納福迎祥紫檀木盒 一對

19th century

The boxes are of square form. Each cover is inlaid in mirror image with bone and coloured soapstone showing two boys trying to catch five bats to be put in a jar. One boy is holding a bat.
Five bats, wufu 五蝠, stand for longevity, wealth,
health, love of virtue, and a peaceful death.

10.9 × 10.9 cm

Provenance: A Dutch private collection
                      Feng-Chun Ma, Amsterdam

Published in Feng-Chun Ma, A Thousand Years of Hundred Boys in Chinese Art, 10th–20th Century (Hong Kong: CA Book Publishing, 2024), p. 192.

WF 87 十九世紀 納福迎祥紫檀木盒一對

方形盒，平頂蓋。蓋面鑲嵌象牙與滑石，呈現兩名童子嘗試將五隻蝙蝠抓入飾有冰裂紋的瓶甕。

10.9 × 10.9 公分

來源：荷蘭私人收藏
          Feng-Chun Ma, Amsterdam 

出版：馬鳳春《千年百子─十至二十世紀中國藝術中的嬰戲圖》(香港：CA Book Publishing, 2024)，頁192。