Lot 768. A large blue and white cushion-form box and a cover, Wanli six-character mark in underglaze blue and of the period (1573-1619), 10½ in. (26.6 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 70,000 - USD 90,000. Price realised USD 81,250. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014

Of square form with canted corners, the cover is painted in rich dark blue tones with two five-clawed dragons confronting a central shoucharacter enclosed within a peach raised on a lingzhi fungus stem, all above a terrestrial diagram and within a double-line border. The sides of the cover are decorated with dragons amidst clouds and flames, and the rim with a narrow border of lingzhi scroll. The sides of the box are similarly decorated.

Property from the collection of James E. Breece III

Note : A very similar Wanli-marked box and cover is illustrated by R. Scott and R. Marks, et al., The Burrell Collection, London and Glasgow, 1984,p. 53, pl. 19.

Christie’s. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 18 – 19 September 2014, New York, Rockefeller Plaza