Lot 32 A Chinese blue and white openwork rectangular box and cover

A Chinese blue and white openwork rectangular box and cover

Wanli mark and of the period

未知

€ 25.000 – € 50.000

WDH: H. 10 cm, W. 25,5 cm, D. 19,1 cm

未知

Of rectangular form raised on four bracket feet. The centre of the cover is pierced with a foliate lozenge-shaped panel painted in underglaze cobalt blue with the Eight Buddhist Emblems supported on scrolling lotus stems, with the Wheel of the Law occupying the centre. The panel is surrounded by a tortoiseshell-diaper ground, the four corners decorated with sprays of lingzhi.
The sloping sides of the cover and the exterior of the box are each decorated with four groups of five-clawed dragons pursuing flaming pearls amid scrolling clouds and flames, above bands of scrolling foliage. The underside is left unglazed around a glazed central panel bearing a horizontal six-character 'Da Ming Wanli Nian Zhi' mark in underglaze cobalt-blue regular script within a double rectangular frame.
Boxes of various forms were widely produced during the Wanli period. The present example is carefully constructed, combining a pierced cover with an architectural four-footed base, and may have served as a writing accessory at the imperial court. The richly layered decoration of the Eight Buddhist Emblems, dragons and diaper grounds exemplifies the elaborate ornamental character of Wanli-period imperial porcelain.
此蓋盒呈長方形，下承四足。蓋面中央作菱花式鏤空開光，內繪纏枝蓮托八吉祥紋，法輪居中, 開光外環飾龜背錦地，四角點綴折枝靈芝。 盒蓋斜壁及盒身外壁均飾四組雲龍趕珠紋，五爪龍穿行於卷雲及火焰紋之間，下方輔以纏枝花葉紋帶。盒底露胎，中央施釉，青花雙線方框內書 '大明萬曆年製' 橫式六字楷書款。
萬曆時期盛行燒造各式盒器，本件造型規整，鏤空蓋面與四足臺座結構製作精巧，或曾作宮廷文房器具使用。八吉祥、雲龍及錦地紋相互結合，展現萬曆官窯華麗繁縟的裝飾風格。
Reference:
Another pierced dragon box is illustrated in 'Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum', vol. 35, no. 186, p. 200. A further similar example from the collection of J.R.A. Dixey was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 23 May 1972, lot 160. An identical example was sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 1 December 2010, lot 3117, for HKD 680,000. Another identical example was sold at Poly Auction, Beijing, 5 December 2012, lot 5585, for RMB 1,058,000 and another at Zeeuws Veilinghuis, The Netherlands, 20 March 2018, lot 204, sold € 58.000,00.
Provenance:
Uno Ranch Collection, Sweden.
S. Marchant & Son, London, with their label to the base.
The Mr. and Mrs. Baert-Devos Collection, Belgium. Acquired from the above on 11 October 2004 and accompanied by a copy of their original invoice. (see added scans)
Exhibited & published:
S. Marchant & Son, London, included in their November 2004 exhibition of 'Ming Blue & White: Jiajing–Chongzhen Including Dated Examples', no. 26 and published in the accompanying catalogue, pp. 38-39. Also illustrated in their 2025 publication 'One Hundred Years', volume 2, p. 94, no. 1149.