A WUCAI ‘DRAGON AND PHOENIX’ FAN-SHAPED BOX MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI

with straight sides rising from a knife-pared foot, each facet deftly enamelled with a leaping five-clawed dragon pursuing a flaming pearl beside a swooping phoenix, all amidst leafy sprays issuing stylised flower heads and within underglaze-blue double-line borders, the glazed base inscribed with a six-character reign mark in a scallop-edged rectangular cartouche, wood cover and stand

Collection of S.H. Evans, until 1962.
Bluett & Sons Ltd, London, 1962 (£40).
Collection of Roger Pilkington (1928-69), from 1962 (£75).

There are glaze flakes to the edges, more significantly on the two edges of the narrow concave end, as visible in the catalogue illustration, measuring 3 cm and 2 cm, whilst the few on the wider end range from 0.5 to 1.2 cm. There is also an oval-shaped glaze flake to the foot of the wider end of 1 by 0.5 cm. There are also a few firing cracks from the rim, with two major ones, one of 4 cm as shown in the illustration, and another of double 'Y' shape and extending down as low as 4.5 cm.
"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."

Two boxes of this type were sold in these rooms, 21st May 1984, lot 67, and 26th October 1993, lot 61; two further boxes with covers were sold in our London rooms, 11th July 1978, lot 192, and 9th June 2004, lot 187; and another box and cover of this form, but painted with two confronting dragons, in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 11:152. Compare also a Wanli mark and period box of this form painted with dragons in underglaze blue, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in the Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 174; and a pair from the Edward T. Chow collection, sold in these rooms, 25th November 1980, lot 14.