Lot 345. A carved red lacquer rectangular box and cover, Jiajing six-character incised and gilded mark and of the period (1522-1566); 26 in. (66 cm.) high. Estimate USD 8,000 - USD 12,000. Price realised USD 157,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2008.
The top finely carved with two birds, one perched on a branch of flowering and fruiting pomegranate, the other on another flowering branch, the branches emerging from around a pierced rock, with further flowering branches on the sides of the cover and box, all reserved on a star diaper ground, interior and base lacquered black and fitted with a removable tray, the gilt-filled mark inscribed on the base, Japanese wood box.
Provenance: Stephen Junkunc, III.
Note: Compare the rectangular red lacquer box and cover in the National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, of larger size (36.7 cm. long) but with similarly carved bird and flower decoration and dated to the Ming dynasty, illustrated in A Journey into China's Antiquity, Beijing, 1997, p. 133, no. 122. See, also, the Jiajing-marked rectangular box and cover in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, carved with a similar design, illustrated in Im Zeichen Des Drachen, Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, 2006, p. 125, no. 48.
Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics And Works Of Art, New York, 19 March 2008.
