Beschreibung:

A VERY RARE CARVED POLYCHROME LACQUER 'KNICK-KNACK PEDDLER' BOX AND COVER JIAJING MARK AND PERIOD the straight-sided domed cover finely carved through the cinnabar, yellow and green lacquer with a raised medallion of eight children surrounding a jovial and bearded peddler carrying a massive horn-like yoke on his back from which is strapped a pair of rattan arches, each balancing a large balustraded square basket filled with carved lacquer vases, food containers and tall rattan canes suspending strings of scarves, hats and combs, flanking a tall umbrella festooned with numerous pendants temptingly hung with puppets and chimes, the peddler holding a vase and receiving a coin from a child while another holds a newly purchased vase, on the other side a boy prancing with a string puppet whilst his companions beat time with cymbals and a mask, all set in a garden, against a yellow and green floret diaper pattern ascending to a wave-patterned middle ground and a keyfret 'air' patterned sky, the rounded shoulder carved with four striding dragons amidst clouds separated by Islands of Paradise, between narrow bands of floret diaper and wan-fret diaper just before a wide diamond and prunus border, together with a box with an incised and gilded six-character vertical mark of Jiajing to the base and carved with a matching design of dragons and floret diaper, the interior of box and cover lacquered a dark brown (2) diameter 13 7/8 in., 35.4 cm