A RARE FAMILLE ROSE OCTAGONAL BOX AND COVER

YONGZHENG PERIOD (1723-1735)

Details

A RARE FAMILLE ROSE OCTAGONAL BOX AND COVER
YONGZHENG PERIOD (1723-1735)
The top of the deep box is set with a raised panel painted in famille rose enamels with the Eight Daoist Immortals holding their attributes and standing on breaking waves. The center is painted with a yinyang symbol partially covered by a lotus plant bearing three lotus buds within a roundel bordered by stylized chilong. The eight sides of the box are decorated with quatrefoil panels painted en grisaille with landscape scenes, each within a larger shaped panel painted in gilt with varied diaper patterns, flower blossoms, and Buddhist emblems.
8 ¾ in. (22 cm.) wide

Provenance

The James E. Sowell Collection, Dallas, Texas.

Lot Essay

Famille rose covered boxes of this form and design are extremely rare and few similar examples appear to have been published. A pair of famille rose boxes of similar shape, but dated to the Qianlong period, are illustrated by The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, Chinese Export Art from the Eckenhoff and Other Collections, 1997, p. 53, no. 39. These boxes are also octagonal in shape, but the cover is surmounted by a lobed knob, and the side panels are also painted in famille rose, while the panels on the present box are painted en grisaille.

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