A WUCAI 'DRAGON AND PHOENIX' FAN-SHAPED BOX AND COVER MARK AND PERIOD OF WANLI |

with straight sides rising from a knife-pared foot, three sides brightly enamelled with a leaping five-clawed dragon pursuing a flaming pearl beside a swooping phoenix, the shorter concave side with a single dragon, all amidst leafy sprays issuing stylised flower heads and within underglaze-blue double-line borders, the unglazed base centred with a glazed rectangular panel with an underglaze-blue six-character reign mark within a scallop-edged rectangular cartouche

Eskenazi Ltd, London.
Mayuyama & Co. Ltd, Tokyo.

There are general shallow flakes and restored chips to the edges with associated areas of overpaint, including three measuring approx. 2 by 1.1, 0.9 by 0.6 and 0.7 by 0.7 cm to the box, and one measuring approx. 0.8 by 0.5 cm to the cover. There are expected firing imperfections including fritting, some resulting in shallow flakes, and firing cracks, including one with an associated hairline measuring approx. 3.8 cm to the cover.
"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 related boxes and covers were sold in our London rooms, the first, 11th July 1978, lot 192, and the second, 9th June 2004, lot 187; one lacking the cover, from the collections of S.H. Evans and Roger Pilkington, was sold in these rooms, 6th April 2016, lot 50; and a further box of this form painted with confronting dragons in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 11:152. This design is also known painted entirely in underglaze blue; compare for example a Wanli mark and period box, 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.