An exceptionally rare blue and white three-tiered tripod box and cover, Mark and period of Kangxi | 清康熙 青花團鳳紋獸足三層蓋盒 《大清康熙年製》款

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 20th May 1981, lot 754. 

Marchant, London.

Collection of Albert (1927-2022) and Pearl (1927-2018) Nipon.

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2nd November 1994, lot 135. 

Marchant, London, 12th October 1995. 

香港蘇富比1981年5月20日，編號754

馬錢特，倫敦

Albert (1927-2022) 及 Pearl (1927-2018) Nipon 伉儷收藏

香港蘇富比1994年11月2日，編號135

馬錢特，倫敦，1995年10月12日

This present box with its phoenix design and formal diaper borders showcases an exciting combination of archaism and innovation in Kangxi imperial porcelain. Throughout the Kangxi period, the imitation of porcelain from previous dynasties was one of the key themes in the production of the imperial kilns. The form of this box originates from an ancient lacquer prototype, but tiered porcelain boxes can also be traced back at least to the mid-Ming dynasty. Two three-tiered boxes of the mid-late Ming period are found in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing. The first, attributed to the Zhengde period, resting on a ring foot and painted with figures in landscapes, is illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., Qinghua youli hong (zhong) / Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), Shanghai, 2000, pl. 52; the second, attributed to the Wanli period, similarly resting on a ring foot but decorated with floral sprigs in cartouches against a geometric pattern ground, is illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji / The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 12, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 197 (accession no. 故00145733).

The top of the present cover is decorated with a meticulously drawn phoenix roundel which is a pattern also found on other Kangxi imperial wares. See for example, a cup of Kangxi mark and period, illustrated in Chen Runmin ed., Qing Shunzhi Kangxi chao qinghua ci [Blue and White Porcelain from Qing Shunzhi and Kangxi Period], Beijing, 2005, pl. 158. However, it is unusual for the design to be contained within formal borders, as seen on the present piece, which further enhances the circular form of the entire box. Similarly, the hare-shaped feet are also extremely rare and make references to the bear-form feet commonly seen on Han archaic bronzes, see several examples of gilt bronze zun illustrated in Zhongguo qingtongqi quanji [Complete Collection of Chinese Bronzes], vol. 12, Beijing, 1998, pls 39–45.

Compare a related polychrome box and cover with an archaistic pattern of kui dragons between similar diaper borders on a yellow ground, of Kangxi mark and period, sold in our London rooms, 8th June 1993, lot 83. Similarly resting on three bear-shaped feet, it was perhaps formerly also a tiered box, now with some missing tiers. See another related Kangxi example with a dragon design but with a ring foot, illustrated in Chen Runmin, op.cit., pl. 187.