Chinese Export Gaming Box with Chinoiserie Decoration Circa 1890

Chinese export gaming box made in the Canton region for the Dutch market, decorated in gold chinoiserie on black lacquer ground. The cushion-shaped top features a central medallion with monogram, surrounded by scenes of pagodas, boats, figures, and traditional Chinese architecture amid bamboo and flowering branches. The fitted interior contains four removable lidded compartments labeled in Dutch for card suits: Klaveren (Clubs), Schoppen (Spades), Ruiten (Diamonds), and Harten (Hearts). The box includes mother-of-pearl gaming tokens, engraved on one side with geometric borders and floral motifs surrounding the owner’s monogram, and on the reverse with a heraldic design featuring a knight’s helmet above a shield. This box is representative of the refined gaming culture of the late 19th century Dutch bourgeoisie, who would commission luxury items from Chinese craftsmen through the Canton trade system. The combination of Chinese export lacquerwork with European heraldry and card game elements is a wonderful example of the cross-cultural luxury goods trade of the period. Circa 1890

height: 4 in. (10 cm.)
width: 11.5 in. (29 cm.)
depth: 10 in. (25.5 cm.)