A pair of 20ct gold wedding boxes dating from the late Qing period is on offer (one shown here). Both are embossed with the 12 symbols of the Chinese zodiac with the lids decorated with the sign of the Dragon and the Rabbit identifying each marriage partner.

Extracted from Antiques Trade Gazette | Roland Arkell

The boxes were acquired in 1956 from the Dowager Empress Hoang thi Cuc, the mother of the abdicated Emperor Bao Dai of Vietnam.

They come for sale at the Singapore saleroom HotLotz – the island city-state’s mid-market auction house launched by British auctioneer Matthew Elton in 2016 – with an estimate of Sin$18,000-22,000.

The 214-lot sale will be running online and closing on July 28.