A very rare yueyao large circular box and cover. Five dynasties period (907-960)

The domed cover impressed in the center with the seeds of a lotus pod separated from the encircling overlapping lotus petals by a bow-string border, with straight sides that match those of the box raised on a pedestal foot with shallow straight sides above a spreading rim, covered inside and out with a thin glaze of greyish olive-green color, the base inscribed with a da (big) character under the glaze. 7 in. (17.8 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box - Est. $100,000 - $150,000

Provenance: Japanese collection prior to World War II.

Notes: The current exceptional box is one of a small number of very fine 10th century Yue ware vessels which are decorated with boldly carved overlapping lotus petals, the latter having a distinct raised section running down the center of each petal. This feature was almost certainly intended to catch the light and enhance the three-dimensionality of the carving. The overlapping lotus petal decoration was influenced by Tang dynasty metalwork, on which the shiny surface of the metal and the rounded form of the petals would have served the same purpose. Such petals can be seen on the exterior of the well-known 10th century Yue ware dish in the collection of the Percival David Foundation illustrated by R. Scott in Imperial Taste - Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, San Francisco, 1989, pp. 22-23, no. 3. They also appear on the exterior of the base of a fine zhadou in the collection of the National Museum of Korea in Seoul illustrated by G. Hasebe in Sekai Toji Zenshu - 12 - Sung, Tokyo, 1977, pp. 50-51, pls. 41 and 42. A slightly later four-handled jar with very similar petals around the lower part of its body and bearing an inscription apparently dating it to AD 987 was included in the exhibition, Getting to Know Ceramics V: The Beauty of Celadon - Searching for the Forbidden Color, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Japan, 2006, p. 24, no. 15.

The bowl, jar, and zhadou do not have the lotus seed pod depicted in the center of the petals, in the manner seen on the current box. However, a seed pod is clearly depicted on the top of a smaller 10th century Yue ware box, without a pedestal foot, which was excavated in Ningbo in 1978, illustrated in Zhongguo Taoci Quanji - 4 - Yue yao, Shanghai, 1981, no. 177, and another, which was included in the exhibition, Celadon Yue Ware, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1994, p. 14, no. 52. A seed pod can also be seen on a similar, although smaller and less sophisticated, Five Dynasties Yue ware box with pedestal foot in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, which was illustrated by Wang Qingzheng in Yue Ware Miseci Porcelain, Shanghai, 1996, pl. 47. On neither of these smaller boxes, however, are the lotus petals carved with such refinement as on the current box.

The lotus was a particularly popular motif in the Chinese decorative arts, since it was associated with Buddhism, harmony in marriage, and was also a symbol of beauty and purity. The seed pod symbolizes fertility, and is associated with the birth of sons. The current box is of exceptionally large size - a fact that is emphasized by the incised character da (big) on the base of the box. This, and its fine decoration, may suggest that the box was part of a special order, since Yue vessels of larger than normal size have been found in important contexts, such as amongst the imperial offerings to the Famen Temple, and amongst the most precious items, believed to have been part of an official gift, in the cargo of the Belitung wreck.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art Including Property from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. 15 September 2009. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. Image 2009 Christie's Ltd www.christies.com