ENAMELED PORCELAIN PENBOX AND COVER
QING DYNASTY, KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)
20.6 cm long, 5 cm high
The penbox is of oblong form, painted on each side with two mirroring dragons in aubergine and yellow against a light turquoise ground. The interior of the box is divided with three circular compartments for holding brushes, and one oblong compartment to serve as a washer. The slightly convex cover is painted with a full-faced dragon amidst clouds and above crested waves, all against a turquoise ground. A geometric border in aubergine and yellow adorns the side of the cover. The inside of the cover, the box interior and the recessed base are covered with transparent glaze.
Porcelain penboxes were produced in Jingdezhen since the early Ming dynasty. First inspired by metal boxes from the Middle East, Chinese potters increasingly adapted the shape to cater to the Chinese taste. An early blue and white porcelain example, from the Xuande period, is in the Percival David collection and illustrated in Stacey Pierson Blue and White for China: Porcelain Treasures in the Percival David Collection, London, 2004, pl. 22.
Kangxi period penboxes such as the present example seem to be rare and very few comparable boxes are known. A similar penbox from the Kangxi period with dragons is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Miscellaneous Enamelled Porcelains Plain Tricoloured Porcelains, 1989, pl. 102. A further example with a phoenix is in the Palace Museum collections and is depicted in Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from The Palace Museum, 1989, pl. 102.
Provenance:
Formerly in the collection of Dr. C. M. Franzero (1892-1986), until 1968
Formerly in a private American collection