A carved celadon-glazed seal paste box and cover, Mark and period of Kangxi | 清康熙 豆青釉刻牡丹紋印泥蓋盒 《大清康熙年製》款

Seal boxes of this type were intended for the scholar’s desk and were produced in a variety of glazes. Compare a closely related example, incised with dragons admits waves in green glaze, from the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Shanghai bowu guan cang Kangxi ci tulu / Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 243; a related Kangxi piece in peachbloom glaze, sold at Christie’s New York, 14th September 2018, lot 1161; and a blue-and-white example, sold in these rooms, 8th October 2008, lot 257.