Chinese Lute-Form Box & Holder

Dark box with an unusual waisted lid and a slim tube lying beside it.

This lute-form box and holder is from China. The pipa is a pear-shaped Chinese lute with a long history, and its outline has often been echoed in decorative objects made as boxes and holders. Long dark wooden box with a lid cut in a waisted, curved outline, shown with a slender black cylindrical case that has a thin brass band. The surface is a smooth, glossy brown-black with faint grain.

Plain manners, with one well-judged curve.