A HUANGHUALI TABLE-TOP CHEST, GUANPIXIANG QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

of rectangular form, the slightly domed hinged cover lifting to reveal a separate compartment above a pair of doors, opening to the interior with five drawers of varying sizes with oval-shaped drawer pulls, the front with a baitong circular lock-plate and cloud-form hasp, mounted at the sides with baitong bail handles, the huanghuali of a warm chestnut-brown tone

Compare two related chests in Robert Jacobsen and Nicholas Grindley, Classical Chinese Furniture in The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 1999, cat.nos 67-68, where it is dicussed that these boxes, often called 'seal boxes', yinxia, were used for storage of many things, ranging from cosmetics and jewellery to art curious and writing utensils, and were usually made in pairs and presented as gifts.