Lot 832. A small blue and white cushion-form box and cover, Jiajing six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the eeriod (1522-1566). Estimate USD 20,000 - USD 30,000. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2016.

Of square form with canted corners, the cover is painted in rich dark blue tones with a five-clawed dragon writhing amidst ruyi-form clouds. The sides of the cover are decorated with alternating cranes and phoenixes amidst double peaches, above a key-fret border. The sides of the box are similarly decorated. 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) diam. 

Provenance: Marie-Louise Gárbaty Collection.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accessioned in 1993.

Christie's. Collected in America: Chinese Ceramics from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 15 September 2016, New York, Rockefeller Plaza