Impressive Chinese Solid Silver Box, XIX Century.

Lovely solid silver Chinese box, made in the 19th century and decorated with beautiful embossed motives all over its surface. This box weighs almost one kilogram, exactly 935 grams of .800 silver, silver alone, and the beauty of the silver it is made of, makes a good team with the nice hand-made embossed motives of its decoration. The lid is especially remarkable with an impressive dragon with five fingers in each claw so it is supposed to bring good fortune to its owner. In Chinese mythology, dragons are responsible for rains and water and are a symbol of imperial authority. They also represent China as an Asian country. This particular dragon is depicted all over the embossed lid. It is in a background of curly sea waves, and its curvy and shaken body creates a nice and dynamic picture. The creature is squirming in the middle of the sea with wide eyes and frightful claws, surrounded by big waves coming up as if they were part of a storm. This great decoration matches the rest of the box, whose sides are embellished with pictures of the sea and its waves with foamy crests. Inside the silver box there is another smaller one, made of wood and painted black. This box is somewhat worn because of its old age.The silver box is in very good condition, except one small defect in one corner (see pictures). If we turn the box upside down we will find some stamps and hallmarks, and inside there is a painted Chinese ideograms. In essence, this great Chinese silver box is a very decorative and valuable article, perfect to be exhibited in a special place, becoming part of the best collection. Measurements: 180 mm width x 100 mm deep.