A rare small blue and white 'boys' rectangular box and cover, Mark and period of Wanli | 明萬曆　青花嬰戲圖長方小蓋盒　《大明萬曆年製》款

Sotheby’s London, 6th April 1976, lot 115.

Acquired from the above and thence in the family collection. 

The Fame of Flame: Imperial Wares of the Jiajing and Wanli Periods, University Museum and Art Gallery, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2009, cat. no. 99.

The ‘boys at play’ motif was particularly popular during the Ming dynasty, embodying auspicious wishes for familial prosperity. This theme was widely employed across diverse decorative media, including porcelain, lacquer, and textiles. In Wanli porcelain, the design appears on a range of vessel types, such as cups, bowls, dishes, jars, and boxes of varying forms.

Examples comparable to the present box, however, are notably rare, especially those of this charming small size. Compare one in the Taipei Palace Museum, acc. no. guci-16789. Another from the Holger Lauritzen Collection, now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, acc. no. OM-1964-0253. A third example, sold in these rooms, 8th April 2009, lot 1674, later entered the Kwong Yee Che Tong Collection and was included in the same exhibition as the present box, and recently sold again at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2024, lot 2830.

The present box is particularly outstanding for its unusually rare diminutive size, the vibrancy of its cobalt blue, and the liveliness of the figures, with the boys rendered in more animated poses and more expressive facial features. It is also remarkable that this piece has remained in the same family for nearly five decades, having been acquired in our London rooms.

來源

倫敦蘇富比1976年4月6日，編號115

購自上述拍賣，此後經家族遞藏

展覽

《爐火純青：嘉靖及萬曆官窯瓷器》，香港大學美術博物館，香港，2009年，編號99

嬰戲圖紋樣於明代尤為盛行，寓意多子多孫、多福多壽，見飾於瓷器、漆器及織繡等。至萬曆時期，此題材亦見於瓷盃、盌、盤、罐及各式蓋盒之上。

然與本品形制、尺寸相近者較爲罕見。台北故宮博物院藏一例，館藏編號：故瓷16789。斯德哥爾摩遠東古物博物館亦藏一例，原屬 Holger Lauritzen 舊藏，館藏編號：OM-1964-0253。第三例售於香港蘇富比2009年4月8日，編號1674，後入藏光怡志堂，並與本品同展，及後釋於香港佳士得2024年5月30日，編號2830。

本蓋盒器形嬌巧，鈷藍發色尤為鮮明純淨，童子形象生動活潑，稚趣可愛，姿態更見多變，五官刻畫亦較為細膩。本盒自於倫敦蘇富比釋出而收入私人收藏後，近五十年來為同一家族相傳珍藏，殊為可貴。