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Lot Essay
During the Jiajing period the depiction of figural scenes proliferated not only on imperial porcelain like the current example, but also on works of art of other media such as lacquer. These depictions convey a sense of liveliness and spontaneity which differ greatly from the early Ming wares which are predominantly decorated with stylised floral motifs or dragons and phoenixes. This shift in taste might owe to the increased circulation of woodblock prints demonstrating narrative scenes and figural images from various dramas, novels or historical events.
The design of the current box and cover is almost certainly based on a woodblock print as there is another published blue and white box bearing almost identical decorations, but produced later with a Wanli mark and of the period, illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 969.
Compare also to a Jiajing-marked blue and white covered box with canted corners decorated with boys at play, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2249.
The design of the current box and cover is almost certainly based on a woodblock print as there is another published blue and white box bearing almost identical decorations, but produced later with a Wanli mark and of the period, illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 969.
Compare also to a Jiajing-marked blue and white covered box with canted corners decorated with boys at play, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2249.