A GRISALLE AND SEPIA EUROPEAN-SUBJECT PORCELAIN SNUFFBOX AND COVER Qianlong period, circa 1750 Of compressed bombé form. the flat circular cover painted with cupid releasing a caged bird before a lady clutching a kerchief and seated on rockwork beneath a tree with a European style steep-roofed building in the distance, the cover interior with two cloaked figures in a coastal setting, the exterior of the rounded globular box with two panels each depicting a gentleman approaching a lady holding a wine cup and divided by simple landscape vignettes on a scrolling gilt ground, the interior with traces of gilding, a grisaille flowerhead painted to the plain rounded base, gilt-metal hinged mounts. 2 7/8in (7.2cm) across Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1750年 墨彩描紅歐洲人物扁圓形鼻烟蓋盒 Chinese porcelain snuffboxes are uncommon and this shape is very unusual. The scenes painted on this derive from European engravings though the precise design source is not known. The symbolism of the scene would have been clearly understood by an 18th century viewer: a caged bird represented a woman's virtue - seen here being released by a winged Cupid!