Gift box
18th-19th century
Ivory inspires intricate carving with its capacity to hold details. This box was likely to have once been an expensive gift. On the outside, a seated duck is portrayed in fine shallow relief. On the inside, eight human figures appear to float atop swirling waves.
Each figure has symbols to identify which of the Daoist Immortals they represent: for example, Li Tiegua leans on a staff, carries a gourd and a pennant decorated with three bats; another is Lu Dongbin, mounted on a demon with the body of a whale.
Ivory
3 7/8 x 5/8 in. (9.84 x 1.59 cm)
L.: 7 3/4 in.
Overall diam.: 1 1/8 in.
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
54.60