Red lacquered needle box and cover in the shape of a men’s shoe. At first we thought that this box was originally used as a seal box because of the red coloring inside the lid. But in a Chinese book on red lacquered Chinese items, we found a photo of an identical box used for storing needles and pins. The box is decorated with a butterfly on each side approaching plum blossoms and purple magnolia flowers. The Plum flower with its five petals symbolizes the ‘Five Blessings’, Old age, Wealth, Health, Love of virtue and a Peaceful death whereas the Magnolia (mubi) is a pun for ‘Must’ (bi). Butterflies (hudie) flying among flowers are an auspicious design symbolizing Joy, Love and Blessings (dielianhua) and blooming flowers are auspicious as well because they bring Prosperity. The nose of the shoe is formed by a Peony (fuguihua) with a circular ‘shou’ (tuanhou) character in the centre. The Peony is the flower of Wealth and Honor and the character ‘Shou’ stands for Longevity. The combination of the two results in the wish ‘May you enjoy longevity, wealth and honor’ (fugui shoukao). The needle box dates from the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912) and was discovered in Shanghai in 1993. Length 8.8 cm. Width 2.5 cm. Height 3.1 cm.