Description:
JB424 A shaped box decorated all over with chinoiserie in penwork inspired by Stalker and Parker and Pillement. The box has an added liftout tray. The hand is that of an enthusiastic amateur and the whole composition has the curious charm of surprise. The different designs are arranged like scraps, without any thought for relevant size, a rabbit for example dwarfing a boat. circa 1820.

Origin: UK

Circa: 1820

Size: 26.5cm wide by 21.5 cm by 14.2 cm: 10.4 inches wide by  8.5 inches by  5.6 inches.

Condition: Some wear consistent with wear. working lock and key, see images.

"Penwork" is sometimes referred to as "pen and ink".

Stalker and Parker's work was the inspiration of later imitations, the most influential of which was the 1760 publication of The Ladies Amusement, or The Whole Art of Japanning Made Easy. The practical advice was simpler than in the earlier book, but the designs were plentiful and many were of high aesthetic merit. Amongst the fifteen hundred designs there were contributions by eminent artists, including Jean Pillement. The figures had more grace and movement; the flowers and birds were luscious yet elegant. The writers warned against absurdity of composition, although they allowed more liberty with "Indian and Chinese" designs.

 

The inside of the box has been relined with hand made marbled paper and blue velvet and has an added liftout tray

This box is illustrated in  Antique Boxes, Tea Caddies, and Society, 1700--1880 
Antigone Clarke & Joseph O'Kelly, ISBN: 0764316885

"A box decorated in penwork like a sampler of its owner's preferred chinoiserie designs. There are copies from Stalker and Parker, The Ladies Amusement, Darly and other sources. The hand is that of an enthusiastic amateur and the whole composition has the curious charm of surprise. The different designs are arranged like scraps, without any thought for relevant size, a rabbit for example dwarfing a boat. The detail shows an interpretation of Stalker and Parker's design of A Pagan Worshipp in ye Indies. 10.3" wide. Circa 1820."

 There are occasional depictions on boxes of opium smoking 

For the context see: http://www.hygra.com/teaand.htm 

There is a variation of this scene by a different hand  on a tea caddy. See: tc2/tcpendisfam.htm