Lot 2802. A rare carved and incised Yue 'peony' box and cover, Northern Song dynasty, 10th-11th century. Estimate HK$ 240,000 – HK$400,000 ($31,113 - $51,854). Unsold. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The domed box is finely carved with a peony sprig in the central medallion, with incised details, and encircled by a band of waves. The box with splayed foot is incised with a band of clouds around the tapering sides. They are covered overall with a greenish-olive glaze, with the exception of the rims burnt reddish brown in the firing. 5 in. (12.7 cm.), diam., Japanese wood box

Notes: Containing precious substances and objects, Yue ware covered boxes were highly treasured in the ancient time, and therefore survived in relatively greater numbers. The boxes’ higher status is also reflected on the lavish decorations, among which the relief carving as represented by the current piece is the most sophisticated and expensive technique. A Yue ware box decorated with peony motif but with a ring of grooves surrounding the central roundel is in the Art Institute of Chicago, included by Yutaka Mino and Katherine R. Tsiang, Ice and Green Clouds: Traditions of Chinese Celadon, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1986, pp. 132-133, no. 49. Compare also a fragment of a similar Yue ware ‘peony’ box was found at the Yue ware kilns in Shangyu Xian, illustrated in ibid, p. 132, fig. 49b. 

Christie's. THE CLASSIC AGE OF CHINESE CERAMICS - THE LINYUSHANREN COLLECTION, PART I, 2 December 2015, Convention Hall