Rosewood Four Drawer Document Box

This elegant tabletop chest is a late 19th-century Chinese document box, once used by a businessman or scholar-official to sort his important documents and writing accessories. The box is expertly crafted of huali rosewood, a dense hardwood valued for its color and fine grain. Seamless dovetail joinery patterns the corners and brass drop handles adorn the sides, affixed to cloud-form plates. Each of the long drawers is fitted with two small drop pulls in the form of ripe peaches, emblems of immortality.

Deaccessioned from the MacLean Collection of Asian Art.