Chinese Food Box with Carrier

Carry handle up top. Shanxi, this is how lunch was packed.

This food box with carrier was made in Shanxi Province, China, in elm wood in the 19th century. Tiered wooden boxes with a carrying frame were commonly used to transport meals to the fields, to workers or to festivals. A tall frame with carved, scrolling uprights and a stout handle rises over a boxy body. Iron straps and studs reinforce the corners, and the dark red lacquer has worn down to bare brown wood at the edges.

About 16 inches tall and 14 square. A sturdy thing for hauling dinner, or for collecting dust with great dignity.