Small lacquered wooden box shaped as a pair of men’s shoes decorated with lozenges on their sides. Shoes (xiezi) are symbolic for ‘Together’ (xie) and the lozenge is a pun for ‘Victory’(sheng) as well as a symbol for chasing away evil spirits. The use of this box is unknown but it may have been used for storing embroidery needles. It is not a toggle as there is no hole in it. It dates from the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912) and entered our collection from Shanghai in 2006. Length 6.0 cm. Width 2.8 cm. Height 2.4 cm.