Bidspirit auction | Two Chinese Carved Shell and

Two Chinese Carved Shell and Mother-of-Pearl Art Dioramas - This lot consists of two Chinese shell art dioramas dating to the mid-to-late 20th century. These decorative shadow boxes are constructed using relief-carved shell and mother-of-pearl to create three-dimensional scenes. The first piece is a rectangular diorama depicting two white cranes with red crowns and black feather details standing beneath the sweeping branches of a pine tree. The scene is rendered with green-tinted shell needles against a pale celadon-colored background. It is housed in a black wood frame and mounted on a matching tiered wooden pedestal stand. A vertical column of Chinese characters and a red square seal mark are located on the right side. The second piece is a square diorama featuring a mountain landscape. The composition includes a yellow-roofed pagoda perched on a cliff, gnarled pine trees, a white bridge, and birds in flight. The elements are carved from iridescent mother-of-pearl and shell against a white background. It is set in a black square wooden frame with a metal hanging loop at the top. In the upper right quadrant, there are four horizontal Chinese characters reading Fu Shou Shan Zhuang (福寿山庄), translated as Blessing and Longevity Mountain Villa, followed by a red square seal mark.