Box and cover simulating carved lacquer

This box is cylindrical in shape, while its cover is carved with two sages standing in a courtyard. Steps lead up to a small pavilion, its roof partly hidden by pine trees and a fence beyond. This is a very rare box, to which no counterpart with a carved figured subject seems to be recorded. It imitates carved red lacquer, yet another example of the remarkable virtuosity of the Qianlong porcelain copies of other materials.