Page 96 - Sotheby's Chinese Art and Porcelain Auction New York September 12, 2018

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PROPERTY OF A FLORIDA PRIVATE COLLECTION Vigorously painted overall in deep cobalt blue with carefully
selected auspicious motifs, this large box exudes the keen
A BLUE AND WHITE ‘CRANES’ BOX AND COVER
interest in Daoism at court during the Wanli reign (r.1573-
WANLI MARK AND PERIOD 1620). Artifacts brimming with Daoist imagery were already
popular in the Jiajing reign due to the emperor’s devotion
of robustly potted circular form painted in deep cobalt blue
to Daoist beliefs and practices, and continued to blossom
hues, the domed cover decorated with eight cranes in ß ight
during Wanli’s reign. Soaring cranes, auspicious lingzhi
amidst auspicious emblems including a large peach, lingzhi,
and peaches painted on the present box were conventional
and scrolling clouds, enclosed by four lobed panels, each
symbols of longevity and chosen with the intention of
with a pair of cranes ß anking a lingzhi sprig, reserved on a
protecting the emperor against the vicissitudes of fortune.
wanzi ground above a band of scrolling foliage at the rim,
the box similarly painted but with the four lobed panels Compare a closely related box in the Idemitsu Museum,
alternating peaches and lingzhi, all supported on a short foot Tokyo, included in the Museum’s exhibition Gen Min no tôji
ring, the slightly-recessed base glazed white and centered [Yuan and Ming Ceramics], 1977, cat. no. 92; one sold in our
by a six-character mark in underglaze blue within a double Hong Kong rooms, 19th November 1984, lot 188; and a third
circle (2) example sold in our London rooms, 7th June 1988, lot 226.
Diameter 11 in., 28 cm
See also similarly decorated Jiajing mark and period boxes
of circular form, including one in the Palace Museum, Beijing,
PROVENANCE
illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo.
Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed-
Sotheby’s London, 9th June 2004, lot 43.
Red (II), Hong Kong, 2000, pl. 109; one sold in our Hong
Kong rooms, 11th April 2008, lot 2941; and another sold at
LITERATURE
Christie’s New York, 19th March 2008, lot 585.
Fujioka, Ryoichi, Toji taikei: Min no sometsuke [Blue and
white ware of the Ming dynasty], vol. 42, Tokyo, 1975, pl. 87. 㖶叔㙮ġġġ曺剙暚浜暄⮞䲳味䙺
Fujioka Ryoichi and Hasebe Gakuji, Sekai tôji zenshû /
Ceramic Art of the World, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 103. ˪⣏㖶叔㙮⸜墥˫㫦
Ը๕
$ 80,000-120,000
㇞㞿伶埻棐炻㜙Ṕ
ΐ㔎喯⭴㭼2004⸜6㚰9㖍炻䶐嘇43
̈و
喌ⱉḮᶨ炻˪昞䡩⣏䲣烉㖶̯㝻Ẁ˫炻⌟42炻
㜙Ṕ炻1975⸜炻⚾䇰87
喌ⱉḮᶨ⍲攟察悐㤥䇦炻˪ᶾ䓴昞䡩ℐ普˫炻
⌟14炻㜙Ṕ炻1976⸜炻⚾䇰103

94 SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART