This is one of the most beautiful counters in the Lowlands-collection. The mother-of-pearl is pure white and the carving extremely fine. Depicted is a pleasure craft with one passenger on board who seems to be winding down after a hard day’s work. Two round lanterns are placed at the rear. These complicated floating structures were common in China. A house and a raised flag are visible in the background. The small house in the front proves that the perspective was not yet widely used in China even though it was known at that time. On the back side of this counter is a roundel with extremely fine back hatching and the ornate initials ‘JFELD’. The ring around the roundel is decorated with two birds as well as with houses and trees. The border of the front is decorated with bats, plum flowers and acanthus leaves. Plum flowers have five petals which represent ‘Longevity, Wealth, Health, Love of Virtue and a Peaceful death’. The bat (Fu) stands for ‘Blessings’. It is interesting that typical Chinese puns were used for the decoration on items going to the West. The carving consists of numerous layers and dates from the Daoguang period (道光1820 – 1850). It was used as illustration in the ChezBill calendar for April 2015. Diameter 4.3 cm. Thickness 0.24 cm.