Qingbai porcelain box in the form of a pumpkin

A porcelain box, moulded in the form of a fruit, the lobed body with high domed cover, which is topped by a stalk-shaped finial. Both box and cover have a small scratch in the glaze on the side edges to facilitate lining up both parts. The exterior and interior are covered in a light blue glaze; the rims and base are unglazed.

•   The aesthetically pleasing form of this box, suggesting a pumpkin or squash, has been very well executed and gives the piece an almost contemporary look.  A comparable box is in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.1  It has an inscription on the base which states that it was made by the Lan family.  In the accompanying text He Li states:  “Boxes were, as explained by inscriptions, used mostly for cosmetic materials - powder, lotion, incense - and to hold medicines and flowers”.2  Another similar box is in the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka.3   Tregear illustrates a similar box in the National Museum of Tokyo, describing the form as that of a chrysanthemum.  According to the author, the shape of such pieces exercised a great influence on Japanese motifs.4

1. Li, He Chinese Ceramics, The New Standard Guide, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Thames and Hudson, London 1996, no. 289, p.161 and 194
2. Li, He op. cit, page 194
3. Pierson, S. (ed.) Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, London 2002, no. 102, pp. 188-9
4. Tregear, M. Song Ceramics, Thames and Hudson, 1982,  no 297, p.222