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

Compare a closely related ‘Dragon’ blue and white drum-form vessel of very similar design, from the collection of the renowned Hong Kong collector Mr C. P. Lin, included as a chess jar in the exhibition Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration: Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain, Percival David Foundation, London, 1992, no. 90.
A chess set including a pair of ceramic covered boxes in drum form with chess pieces inside, excavated from the tomb of Zhu Tan (1370-90), the Ming Prince Huang of Lu, are illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Ming: 50 Years that Changed China, the British Museum, London, 2014, fig. 168.