CASE FOR A DRINKING SET

Description The casket consists of an oblong box, which extends on the short sides with two lions and a densely worked lid that follows its contours. Each of the two components was made from a single block of solid wood. The object is entirely covered with a background of black lacquer (tending towards brown), which also affects the flat bottom of the container: both the inside of the casket and the lid were uniformly lacquered in red. The exterior decoration is carved or painted (most likley a mixture of both techniques) in red. At both corners of the lid two oval red eyes stand out with the pointed ears of a monster head flattened on all sides. The engraving is realized in geometric bas-relief. The style of the felines' decoration appeared shortly before the middle of the 4th century BCE and is typical of the production of Chu lacquers until the 3rd century BCE.