V7 A Cricket cage, probably Mongolian, 19th Century

Description

Description:   Chinese bone trinket, with a leather lid and four venting holes. It should be a cricket cage, probably Mongolian. The little knob at the top should be for wrapping a strand, for hanging the cage at the belt. On the lid, remnants of thin strings should be what remain of a tassel.

Dating:  19^th century.

Size:  7.9 cm high

Provenance:  Antiquarian market

References:

Notes:  A cricket cage is not exactly an expected item within a collection of Chinese Art. The reason for being it here is that this should be old, Mongolian, and seen as a cultural object of similar importance as, for example, the snuff bottles.