Pipe - Wood, Silver, Ivory, Bone

Antique late-19th-century or early-20th-century Chinese opium pipe with a matching octagonal opium box. The set is made from a combination of dark hardwood, bone or ivory, and diamond-cut inlays of pak tong (a traditional Chinese alloy of copper, nickel and zinc that resembles silver).
The Opium Box: This octagonal box was used for airtight storage of the precious opium. The lid is inlaid with bone or ivory and features a prominent Yin-Yang symbol, surrounded by the eight trigrams (Bagua) from Chinese cosmology.
In the close-up of the bottom of the opium box, an important detail is visible: a metal medal or coin inlaid with the engraved letters "X.C.L" beneath it.
The presence of Western (Latin) letters such as "X.C.L." on an originally Chinese object strongly suggests that this box was made around 1900 for the export market, or specifically marked by a Western trading firm or private collector.