MING DYNASTY, ZHENGDE PERIOD (1506-1521)

A related blue and white garden seat, also painted with lions, and dated to the Zhengde reign is in the collection of the Convent of the Capuchinas, Toledo, Spain. The stool is one of only four surviving intact pieces from 16th-17th century Spain, illustrated in Arts of Asia, “Book Review – Chinese Porcelain in Habsburg Spain”, January-February 2017, p. 143. See, also, a blue and white stool with pierced biscuit medallion decorated with lions chasing a ball in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 53 - Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1), Hong Kong, p. 2002, p. 68, pl. 53.