A PAIR OF ZITAN WEIQI COUNTER CONTAINERS, WEIQIZIHE, 17TH-18TH CENTURYChina. Each of melon form, with well-rounded double lobes divided by ridges, the high curving shoulder rising from the tapered base, the similarly carved elegantly domed cover with a central dimple. The zitan wood of an attractive grain and color with characteristic ‘crab’s claw’ marks. (2)Provenance: Swedish trade.Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, expected minor age cracks, few small chips and minuscule nicks, occasional light scratches, one box with a minor old repair.Weight: 555 g and 536.7 gDimensions: Diameter 13 cm (each, at the widest points)Weiqi (moremonly known in the West under its Japanese name, go) originated in ancient China and was one of the four aplishments that a Chinese scholar had to practice. There is a tangle of conflicting popular and scholarly anecdotes attributing its invention to the two earliest emperors in China, Yao and Shun, an Imperial vassal, Wucao, or a court astrologer in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is generally agreed that weiqi is more than 2,500 years old, which makes it the world's oldest strategic board game continuously played to the present day.Auction resultparison:Type: Closely relatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 16 September 2016, lot 1213Price: USD 68,750 or approx.EUR 77,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A pair of zitan weiqi counter containers, weiqizihe, 17th-18th centuryExpert remark: Note the similar size (11.7 cm)十七至十八世紀一對南瓜形紫檀圍棋盒中國，盒身是整料製成，深雕瓜棱線。器蓋同樣雕飾瓜棱線條。整器氣韻十足。紫檀木料溫厚色澤細膩，包漿圓潤，可見蟹爪紋。 (2)