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Lot Essay
Cloisonné enamel wares from the early Ming period are rare as production was strictly regulated by the Palace eunuchs who operated under the auspices of the Yuyongjian, a sub-division of the Neifu, 'The Inner Treasury', responsible for supplies to the Imperial Household. The number of early Ming cloisonné vessels that have survived is limited since their original quantity was not as extensive as those produced in the late 17th century with the establishment of the Imperial workshops.
A particular point of note is the central floral bloom enamelled on the upper surface of the present cover which is comparable to decorative elements in ceramics, where the stylised flower form originated. The serrated edges of the petals resemble peony designs on earlier Song dynasty Ding ware dishes; an example of a line drawing on a Ding ware dish is in the British Museum, illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon, 1984, fig. 64a. From ceramic decorations, it is evident that both the peony and lotus motifs were used interchangeably with a varied degree of artistic license.
Compare to an identical box of this pattern but smaller size (8.4 cm. diam.) dated to the first half of the 15th century, formerly in the collection of Sir Harry Garner and now in the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, 1989. pl. 12. The Uldry box is inscribed on the base with two characters, likely to be the owner's mark. Three other boxes similarly incised with vertical reign marks are illustrated by Sir Harry Garner in Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, Faber and Faber, 1970, pl. 23, designed with pomegranate from the Cunliffe Collection; pl. 24, with persimmons; pl. 24b from Fenton House, National Trust, designed with grapes. The Xuande inscription on the Fenton House box is illustrated op. cit., 1970, pl. 95c. Another box similarly inscribed and dated to the Xuande period, designed with melons on the upper surface is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Metal-Bodied Enamel Ware, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, 2002, p. 34, no. 32.
A particular point of note is the central floral bloom enamelled on the upper surface of the present cover which is comparable to decorative elements in ceramics, where the stylised flower form originated. The serrated edges of the petals resemble peony designs on earlier Song dynasty Ding ware dishes; an example of a line drawing on a Ding ware dish is in the British Museum, illustrated by J. Rawson, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon, 1984, fig. 64a. From ceramic decorations, it is evident that both the peony and lotus motifs were used interchangeably with a varied degree of artistic license.
Compare to an identical box of this pattern but smaller size (8.4 cm. diam.) dated to the first half of the 15th century, formerly in the collection of Sir Harry Garner and now in the Pierre Uldry collection, illustrated by H. Brinker and A. Lutz, Chinese Cloisonné: The Pierre Uldry Collection, 1989. pl. 12. The Uldry box is inscribed on the base with two characters, likely to be the owner's mark. Three other boxes similarly incised with vertical reign marks are illustrated by Sir Harry Garner in Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné Enamels, Faber and Faber, 1970, pl. 23, designed with pomegranate from the Cunliffe Collection; pl. 24, with persimmons; pl. 24b from Fenton House, National Trust, designed with grapes. The Xuande inscription on the Fenton House box is illustrated op. cit., 1970, pl. 95c. Another box similarly inscribed and dated to the Xuande period, designed with melons on the upper surface is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Metal-Bodied Enamel Ware, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, 2002, p. 34, no. 32.