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The combination of melons and butterflies is a pun on an old idiom that expresses a wish for many offspring, like melons on vines. This encoded meaning makes this pair of boxes a likely gift for a wedding.
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清晚期 剔紅瓜瓞綿延圖盒
Title: Pair of boxes with melons and butterflies
Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Date: 19th century
Culture: China
Medium: Carved red lacquer
Dimensions: H. 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm); Diam. 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm)
Classification: Lacquer
Credit Line: John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913
Accession Number: 13.220.57a, b
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