A BLUE AND WHITE PEN BOX AND COVER ZHENGDE MARK AND PERIOD

of rectangular form, supported on a stepped foot, the top of the cover and the box similarly decorated with Arabic roundels alternating with stylised lotus sprays, the rim of the cover and the foot encircled by ruyi bands, inscribed at the base with a six-character reign mark within a double-rectangle

There is a restored break to the cover to one side that runs diagonally across the top surface. There are two firing cracks ( both 4cm) to the base, which both run faintly up the side and two smaller ones to the other side 5mm and 8mm. There is an area of glaze loss (fritting) to one corner and some further areas of fritting and glaze inconsistency to the upper part of the stepped base. There is a 1.4cm by 8mm glaze pull to one side of the box to one inscribed roundel and other smaller areas above this and another smaller area to the other side.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Boxes of this type, decorated with Arabic and Persian inscriptions, belong to a small group of porcelain wares for the scholar’s desk produced during the Zhengde period.  Sir Harry Garner, in Oriental Blue and White, London, 1973, pp 29-30, suggests that these finely potted wares were made for the domestic market, and were possibly kept in the offices of the powerful Muslim eunuchs that lived at court who were versed in the two languages.

 

A closely related box from the Sir Percival David collection, and now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 8.5, together with a similarly decorated Zhengde mark and period ink slab similarly decorated, pl. 8.6; another box from the collection of Ernest Grandidier, and now in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is published in Xavier Besse, La Chine des Porcelaines, Musée Guimet, Paris, 2004, pl. 16; and a third example in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, is illustrated in Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, op. cit., pl. 43a. See also a Jiajing mark and period box of this type, in the Capital Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics. Ming, vol. 12, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 173; and another sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 31^st October 1994, lot. 554.