A rare wucai 'dragon' box and cover, Mark and period of Wanli | 明萬曆 五彩逐珠雲龍圖臥獅鈕方蓋盒 《大明萬曆年製》款

Wanli boxes of square section are rare and this box is unusual for its vibrant dragon decoration. Compare a wucai box and cover of the same pattern from the Yokogawa Collection, included in the Illustrated Catalogue of the Tokyo National Museum, Chinese Ceramics II, Tokyo, 1990, cat. no. 324; one also with its original fitted cover, sold in Christie's Paris, 10th June 2009, lot 125; and another without cover, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 30th May 2012, lot 4069.

See also a Wanli box of this form, enamelled with scenes of boys at play, published in Sekai toji zenshu [Ceramic Art of the World], vol. 11, Tokyo, 1955, fig. 169; another from the Manno Art Museum, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 553; and a third example sold in our London rooms, 15th December 1981, lot 209.

Compare blue and white decorated boxes of this square form, also with Wanli reign marks and of the period, such as one painted with boys, sold in our London rooms, 15th April 1980, lot 260; and another picturing birds amongst trees, also sold in our London rooms, 17th July 1995, lot 57. A square Jiajing box is illustrated in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 179.

Wanli wucai boxes of this size and decoration are known in various forms; for example see a barrel-shaped box published in The Complete Works of Chinese Ceramics, vol. 13, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 120; and a tall five-lobed box in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, included in the exhibition Imperial Overglaze-Enamelled Wares in the Late Ming Dynasty, Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1995, cat. no. 29.