cricket box

[Rec]

hi guys,
I'm interested in these cricket boxes but before making an offer i would like to hear your expert opinion. are these authentic boxes from the early 19th century or from 20th century?

[Stan]

Hi Rec, can you remove the top, it looks like it is stationary and can not be opened, other than that it looks like late Qing or early republic

[Rec]

well noticed Stan!. it is indeed fixed and i have not seen it. So, it is not a cricket box but what is it than? any idea

[Stan]

I am not sure what this could be used for, maybe Peter can tell.

[peterp]

You have to mention size, otherwise it is difficult to tell what it is. The bottom is also important for dating.

Thet shape is usually more logitudinal and narrow. Those are used as weights to put on the paper to hold it in place, when writing or painting with a brush. However, those usually do not have such proportions.
A rectangular item shape with such rectangular proportions I know of usually does not have a lattice decoration, and is vintage only. They were used as wrist rests for the patient, when a doctor of Chinese medicine felt the pulse. They use soft ones nowadays.
So I am not sure what it is, but use as a weight is more likely. If used as a wrist rest for an extended period of time the onglaze decoration might have been badly abraded. In fact, as you can see the painting itself shows not the least damage from use, although the porcelain looks old. That means it might have been painted at a later time, not when the porcelain body was made.

[Rec]

Hi Peter,  very informative,.the measuremants: 13 cm lang 6cm wide en 4cm high

[Stan]

Notice that they are reverse images of each other, that is usually a republic trait, it was meant to be decorative or displayed together, maybe the paper weight makes the most sense, you are right Peter there is no wear if it were a wrist rest.