12th-13th-century vanity box reflects superb lacquer craftsmanship

Women of the higher class living in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) led a refined lifestyle, as shown by this lacquer vanity box.

The twelve-lobed lotus-shaped cylindrical box has four parts – the lid, tray, middle section and base. Coated on the exterior with vermilion lacquer and on the interior with black lacquer, the box is decorated with the delicate gold-tracery technique.

A garden scene featuring ladies escaping the summer heat is depicted on the lid and various flowers arranged in groups are found around the exterior wall of the cylindrical box, both in gold-tracery. Silver bands are finely applied to the rims of the container to secure and embellish it.

Unearthed from a Song Dynasty tomb in Changzhou, Jiangsu, in 1978, the vanity box is a true embodiment of unique craftsmanship and elegant aesthetics. It is a treasure in the permanent collection of the Changzhou Museum.