A BLUE AND WHITE 'CRANE' BOX AND COVER

Estimated Value:

1.500 € - 2.500 €

Result:

5.827 € incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

China, underglaze blue Jiajing six-character mark and period
D. 19,7 cm
Circular form on a straight foot, the domed cover is decorated with two flying cranes amidst rolling ruyi clouds, the sides of the lid and the box are also decorated with six more flying and falling cranes amidst clouds, all separated by two-line borders, the base inscribed with a six-character mark in a double circle.
European private collection, collected before 2007
Cf. two slightly larger boxes and covers similarly decorated with cranes on the lid but painted with lobed cartouches on the sides, one from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Red Underglaze Painting (II), Shanghai, 2000, fig. 109, and the other published in Ceramic Art of The World. Ming Dynasty, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, fig. 103.
The motif of cranes flying among ruyi clouds, a common symbol of longevity with strong Daoist associations, was particularly favoured by the Jiajing Emperor, who was an ardent Daoist. According to Jessica Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, p. 255, the motif of a crane flying towards the sun may also express a wish for the recipient to rise to high office. - Cover rest.

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