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Lot Essay
Small boxes, used for cosmetics, pills, etc. were made in large quantities during the late Ming dynasty, and many were exported to Southeast Asia. However, a box in this unusual 'frog' form appears to be extremely rare.
During the Wanli period, porcelain frogs generally took the form of 'frog' kendis but these are also rare. Such kendis are in several museum collections, including the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, illustrated by Maura Rinaldi, Kraak Porcelain, A Moment in the History of Trade, London, 1989, pl. 234, p. 181, the Ardebil Shrine, Tehran, illustrated by John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, plate 97, no. 29.465, and two in the Topkapi Saray Museum, illustrated by Krahl & Ayers, Chinese Porcelains in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, nos. 1296 and 1297, pp. 730 and 731.
Compare also the blue and white incense burner modelled as a three-legged toad, exhibited Ming Ceramics, Knapton & Rasti, London, 2006, catalogue no. 10, and the model of a crouching frog as no. 11, which is dated to the Tianqi period (1621-27).
During the Wanli period, porcelain frogs generally took the form of 'frog' kendis but these are also rare. Such kendis are in several museum collections, including the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, illustrated by Maura Rinaldi, Kraak Porcelain, A Moment in the History of Trade, London, 1989, pl. 234, p. 181, the Ardebil Shrine, Tehran, illustrated by John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1981, plate 97, no. 29.465, and two in the Topkapi Saray Museum, illustrated by Krahl & Ayers, Chinese Porcelains in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, nos. 1296 and 1297, pp. 730 and 731.
Compare also the blue and white incense burner modelled as a three-legged toad, exhibited Ming Ceramics, Knapton & Rasti, London, 2006, catalogue no. 10, and the model of a crouching frog as no. 11, which is dated to the Tianqi period (1621-27).