Elegant Lock Box

With clean lines and simple form, this refined 19th-century lock box celebrates the beauty of huali wood, a rosewood valued highly for its abstract patterning and shimmering surface. The top surface of this box is made of huali burl wood, thought to embody the complexities of nature and provide creative inspiration. The box was crafted by a Qing-dynasty carpenter in Beijing, the center of Mandarin culture, and reflects a trend among Beijing elite of owning boxes made of precious hardwoods. The esteemed material suggests this box belonged to a traditional scholar, who would have used it as a prized lock box for precious smalls and valuables.