both of compressed circular form and similarly decorated, each meticulously painted in varying tones of underglaze blue, the first with a bird perching on rockwork, the box with two fish swimming among waterweed; the second with a bird fluttering amid grasses, the box with a detached flower spray, both with the artist's studio mark inscribed to the base reading yuanwen wuguo zhizhai ('the Studio of Recognizing My Mistakes') (4).

Provenance: Collection of Stephen Junkunc, III (d. 1978). 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 12 sept. 2018, 10:30 AM