A LATE MING WUCAI LOBED 'DRAGON' BOX
A LATE MING WUCAI LOBED 'DRAGON' BOX

Details
A LATE MING WUCAI LOBED 'DRAGON' BOX
WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK WITHIN DOUBLE-CIRCLES AND OF THE PERIOD (1573-1620)

Of lobed pentafoil form, each lobed panel painted around the exterior in vivid green, yellow and iron-red enamels on underglaze blue with confronting dragons amidst ruyi clouds contesting a 'flaming pearl', all above rockwork jutting out from turbulent waves, each panel enclosed within double squares
5 7/8 in. (14.5 cm.) wide
Provenance
A Japanese private collection

Lot Essay

Lobed boxes and covers with dragons include a pentagonal box from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, exhibited at the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Imperial Overglaze-Enamelled Wares in the Late Ming Dynasty, 1995, and illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 29; and a hexagonal example in Beijing, illustrated in Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 32.

Compare also a smaller lobed Wanli-marked box and cover with 'dragon and phoenix' design sold at Christie's Hong Kong, Imperial Chinese Ceramics from the Robert Chang Collection, 28 November 2006, lot 1315.

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