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This page features Culin-patterned (Category 2.0) bone and bamboo tile sets housed in top-opening box-shaped containers, usually made from either leather (over a cardboard frame), cardboard or tin. These boxes have a lid that lifts off as opposed to sliding off.
Leather boxes usually had handles fixed to the top which opened to reveal felt-lined or leather trays stacked one upon another. Some boxes had decorative patterns impressed into the leather.
Tin boxes were either plain or had a colourful, patterned surface with usually one interior partition.
Cardboard boxes were usually decorated with a colourful decal or were covered in a patterned silk with sinograms painted onto the silk surface. Both types usually but not always had cardboard partitions.
This set displays the standard Culin tile set pattern/form of the 3 suits, four Directions/'Winds', 3 Honours/'Dragons' and 4 Flowers and 4Seasons with an ornamental 1 Cash/'Circle' and a bird on the 1 SOC(String of Cash)/'Bamboo'. The Flowers sinograms, together with there pictorial representations in vases are li (plum), lan (orchid), ju (Chrysanthemum) and zhu (bamboo) together with various additional objects. These combinations will usually spell out a blessing. The Seasons sinograms are chun (Spring), xia (Summer), qiu (Autumn) and dong (Winter). The plants in vases with various objects are the Peony? (mu-dan), Lotus (lian-hua )with leaf, bud and flower , Plum (li) and Narcissus (shui-xian). Note the central right sub sinogram 'shu' (spear) in the green 'Dragon' sinogram rather than the earlier sub sinogram 'shi', meaning arrow.
Finely crafted leather box and handle with five felt-lined trays.
This type of box-shaped container consists of leather usually stitched over a cardboard or pasteboard carcass. It has two side clasps and a lock on the front panel.
The top is hinged at the rear and each interior tray has a tongue of leather on the left and right sides with which to pull the tray upwards, thus revealing the next tray underneath.
Non-ornate engravings on the suit tiles. Simplified form of the wan sinogram for the Myriads of Cash/'Character' suit. Undecorated Cash/'Circles' in the Circles suit. Simples rods for the SOC/'Bamboo' suit. Note the geometrical diamond shape of the nine of Cash/'Circles' and the use of a bamboo shoot on the number one SOC/'Bamboo' suit. The left hand quartet of Flowers/Seasons read; wen (civil), ming (bright, clear) = "civilised" and shi (World), jie (boundary of a country) = "world". Hence "Civilized World". The right hand quartet feature pictures of objects visualizing the sinograms. These read; qin (Lute), qi (Chess), shu (books) and hua (painting). These represent the 'Four Arts of the Scholar'.
Leather bound box and handle with metal clasp and lock. Five felt-lined trays inside.
