A blue and white 'crane' box and cover, Mark and period of Jiajing

Collection of Gustaf Wallenberg (1863-1939).

Collection of Karin (1891-1979) and Oscar Falkman (1877-1961).

Boxes of this design are notable for their impressive size. Compare a similar box preserved in the Qing Court collection, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, cat. no. 109; and another illustrated in Ceramic Art of the World. Ming Dynasty, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, cat. no. 103. See also a related Wanli box with the same decoration exhibited in Gen Min no tôji [Ceramics of the Yuan and Ming dynasties], Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, 1977, cat. no. 92. Further comparable examples include one from the Toguri Collection, sold in these rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 43; another sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2941; and a third box sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 28th May 2010, lot 228.