Stunning C. 1800 Very Fine Chinese Export (Canton) Lacquered Tea Caddy vintage woodblock The two little houses up

The two little houses up on the hill are pretty good too

Embossed "Imperial" crown at upper left

almost like a stop motion animation or a diagram of a dance

It is hard to imagine a time when people learned how to make calligraphic drawings like this as a matter of course

but unreadable

Stunning C. 1800 Very Fine Chinese Export (Canton) Lacquered Tea Caddy vintage woodblock The two little houses upIts not too often that I buy a piece of Asian lacquerware, but this early 19th c. hand painted Chinese export tea caddy struck me as so fine and so lovely that I could not resist. And, since finding it, I found a very very similar one listed sold on 1st Dibs for $6000, albeit containing its original pewter canisters inside. The exterior is decorated overall in black lacquer with fantastic finely hand painted gilt floriate pattern all over plus tiny