WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE IN A LINE AND OF THE PERIOD (1573-1620)

In her introduction to this catalogue, Rosemary Scott discusses this box and the use of the vibrant, imported cobalt blue used for the decoration, as well as the remarkable technical feat of successfully firing such an object created with slab construction. A nearly identical box and cover from the Percival David Foundation, now in the British Museum, London, has been extensively published and appears in the following publications: R. L. Hobson, B. Rackham, W. King, Chinese Ceramics in Private Collections, London, 1931, referenced p. 177, col. pl. 25; International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-36, p. 186, no. 1983, listed p. 167; M. Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Underglaze Blue and Copper Red Decorated Porcelains, London, 1976, p. 55, pl. X, no. B611; and R. Scott, Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, London, 1992, p. 92, no. 94. (Fig. 1) Another very similar example in the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, is illustrated by C. J. A. Jörg in Oriental Porcelain in the Netherlands, Four Museum Collections, Groningen, 2003, pp. 20-21, no. 4.