Lot 309. Two Yue celadon boxes and covers, Five dynasties–Song dynasty; 13.8 and 14 cm, 5 3/8  and 5 1/2  in. Estimate 80,000 — 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 2,500,000 HKD. © Sotheby's.

each of circular form, one raised on a splayed foot and carved in relief on the cover with a pair of phoenix against floral scrolls; the other supported on a shorter footring, the cover decorated with a coiling dragon.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 20th June 2001, lot 56.
Tai Sing Fine Antiques Ltd, Hong Kong, 17th July 2001.

Note: A similar Yue celadon box with a design of phoenix is in the collection of the Nien Hsi Foundation, illustrated in Special Exhibition of Early Chinese Greenware: Principally Yueh Ware, Taipei Museum of History, 1996, pl. 111.