A WHITE-GLAZED PORCELAIN SEAL-PASTE BOX AND COVER QING DYNASTY, 18TH / 19TH CENTURY

of compressed globular form, carved on the top and bottom with flowering leafy peony branches, set with three large blooms on the cover and three others on the box, applied overall, except for the inner rim, with a transparent glaze covering a soft-paste porcelain slightly tinged to greyish-beige

Collection of Carl Kempe, Stockholm.
Sotheby's Paris, 16th June 2008, lot 114.
J.J. Lally & Co., New York, June 2008.

Bo Gyllensvard, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Uppsala, 1964, pl. 830.

The overall condition is very good with natural crackles in the glaze. The carving is very crisp and clear.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

White-glazed boxes decorated in imitation of other materials are extremely rare, although two red-enamelled examples, carved in simulation of early Ming dynasty lacquer boxes are possibly the closest comparable examples to the present piece. One inscribed with a Qianlong reign mark, formerly in the collection of the British Rail Pension Fund was sold in these rooms, 16th May 1989, lot 47; and the other unmarked, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is included in the museum's exhibition Qingdai danse you ciqi tezhan, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1981, cat. no. 14, overall decorated with plum blossom against a related leiwen ground.

An ivory seal-paste box of this form, skilfully carved with large lotus, peony and plum flowers, was included in the Oriental Ceramics Society exhibition, Chinese Ivories from the Shang to the Qing, British Museum, London, 1984, cat. no. 188, where it is compared to Ming objects in carved red lacquer. Stylistic similarities in the carving can also be found in bamboo carvings, for example, see a vessel illustrated in Wang Shixiang and Wan-go Weng, Bamboo Carving of China, New York, 1983, pl. 27.