Antique Chinese Cinnabar Lacquer Round Box with Character for Spring (Chun) and God of Longevity (Shoulao) nova scotia so I removed the print

so I removed the print from the backing it was attached to (cutting carefully through old masking tape to do so) and have put it in a simple black frame with white matte

and the irregularity of the edge of the black paint makes me think it was made to please its maker rather than for sale

perhaps closing up a third hole (

as is often the case with Northeast Coast native baskets

which are more pronounced on the reverse

Antique Chinese Cinnabar Lacquer Round Box with Character for Spring (Chun) and God of Longevity (Shoulao) nova scotia so I removed the printThis lovely, finely carved antique Chinese cinnabar box features a large representation of the character for spring (chun, an allusion to long life), and a small image of Shoulao, the god of longevity, on its face, with an overflowing bowl below it set against a background of radiating rainbows. This "bowl of treasures" design apparently first appeared in the 16th century, but became famous and more complicated when an extraordinary series of boxes