Carved Lacquerware Pen Holder Featuring the Painting of Holding a Qin to Visit a Friend

Carved Lacquerware Pen Holder Featuring the Painting of Holding a Qin to Visit a Friend

Visiting friends is a common subject of Chinese paintings. The outer surface of the pen holder is engraved with mountains, rivers, pavilions, towers, human figures and trees. On the small bridge, there's a young servant holding a qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither) among other passersby. The subject of the painting is visiting a friend with a qin.