WANLI PERIOD (1573-1619)

The current box is unusually carved with the subject of a rooster and a hen, a motif representing familial harmony and popularised on the revered Chenghua doucai ‘chicken’ cups. The decorative scheme on the box, with auspicious motifs enclosed within a shaped cartouche against a diaper ground, can be found on contemporaneous works made in various media, including blue and white and wucai porcelains, as well as lacquerwares, such as a Jiajing-marked qiangjin and tianqi lacquer brush pot decorated with dragons within cartouches against a diaper ground, offered as lot 2909 in the current sale. Compare also to a rectangular Wanli-marked wucai box of similar form to the current lot, with a cover pierced and decorated with dragons enclosed within a shaped panel, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1857.