Basketwork Box, 1688, 5-1/4 x 16-1/2 x 16-1/2 in. (13.3 x 41.9 x 41.9 cm), Bamboo cane, wood, and painted lacquer, China, 17th century, Remains of Chinese baskets have been found in neolithic sites (5,000-3,000 BCE), and it is likely that, with the introduction of lacquer during the same period, some baskets were coated with lacquer for preservation. Lacquered basketry was especially popular in South China during the late Ming dynasty (seventeenth century), but it was never produced in the official workshops of the imperial court.