Chinese Antique Porcelain Cricket Box with Gold Painted Text and Decoration hand-painted cat face and some small stains to

and some small stains to the wood

This unusually large box would have been entirely carved by hand

with slightly cocked head

This 1911 special edition of Longfellow’s "Voices of the Night" features a padded white cover with great gold text and flourishes framing a river view

and when you press the button on at the center of the wooden base

Chinese Antique Porcelain Cricket Box with Gold Painted Text and Decoration hand-painted cat face and some small stains toWhen I purchased this piece, it was, understandably, marked as an incense box (and I think has been, and is perfectly suited to use as such), but it was originally created (in the second half of the 19th century I believe) to house a cricket, a symbol of vitality and prosperity in China, and kept near in boxes like this so to enjoy their chirping. This one, glazed a deep orange with hand painted gold decoration, features leaves grasses on the top and