WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE IN A LINE WITHIN A DOUBLE RECTANGLE AND OF THE PERIOD

The dragons on this box are chasing a flaming pearl, a motif that was popular in the Ming and Qing. In 'Layers of Meaning,' Joined Colors: Decoration and Meaning in Chinese Porcelain, Washington, D.C., 1993, p. 39, J. Stuart maintains that the pearl 'probably evolved from the Buddhist image of a cintamani, which was often depicted with rays of light emanating from it.'

A very similar example with double dragons decorating each side of the cover is illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, Tokyo, 1955, vol. 11, no. 117, and for boxes with variations in painted decoration see similar boxes in the same publication, p. 222, fig. 154 and Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, vol. 1, p. 311, no. 927.