Box with Geometric Designs
This incense container represents a refined stage in the long Chinese tradition of lacquer inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Its distinct geometric patterns are composed of extraordinarily small, thin, iridescent pieces of shell—the inner layers of the abalone shell. The intricate patterns of this box must have appealed to Moore. His interest in geometric shapes is evident in the objects he collected from the Islamic world as well as in the details of many of his own designs.