Round Tiered Box

Legend has it that the Tang emperor, Minghuang (r. 713-56 CE), had lychee fruit delivered by horseback from southern China to satisfy the cravings of his favorite concubine, Yang Yuhuan. Because of this story, and the fruit’s general popularity in China, lychee is a frequent motif in the decorative arts and carries associations with romance. The cover and sides of this cylindrical box are deeply carved with fruiting branches of lychee within plain narrow borders. The fruits are sometimes depicted with realistic outer skins and sometimes with a lattice pattern, the whole set against a star pattern background.