A rare blue and white pen box for the Islamic market, Ming dynasty, late 15th/early 16th century | 清十五世紀末/十六世紀初 青花纏枝蓮紋筆盒

The shape of this pen or writing box is based on earlier metal prototypes which originated in medieval Iran and later became popular in Egypt and Syria. The semi-circular compartment would have been used as the water pot (for mixing the ink and water), while the small container with a covered lid served as an inkwell. Writing boxes such as this example would have been used as part of a scholar or calligrapher's set. Porcelain writing boxes began to be made at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen during the Yongle reign and continued to be popular through the Ming period. Compare another early example painted with a flower scroll and attributed to the early Ming dynasty, from the Sir Percival David Collection and now in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Stacey Pierson, Blue and White for China: Porcelain Treasures in the Percival David Collection, London, 2004, pl. 22; a blue and white decorated writing box and cover modified to suit the taste of the Ottoman court and embellished with gold and jewel-inlaid fittings, is in the collection of the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is published in John Ayers and Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul. A Complete Catalogue, London, 1986, Vol. II, Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelains, p. 440, col. pls. 666, and p. 546, cat. no. 666. Compare also with another embellished blue and white pen box and cover made for the Ottoman market, sold in Christie's London, 10th October 2013, lot 133.