12.7 cm. （5 in.） wide

Provenance：
A Japanese Private Collection

Extant examples of Longqing ceramics are exceptionally rare due to the very short reign period （6 years） and the preponderance of natural disasters during the period which， at times， forced the closure of the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen.
Stylistically， Longqing ceramics are very close to those produced during the preceding Jiajing reign and are sometimes indistinguishable from their predecessors. Most of the ceramics known to have been produced during the Longqing reign are decorated in underglaze blue and white or in wucai enamels as is the case with the present box and cover.
Boxes were made in in many different sizes and shapes during the period from the Jiajing to the Wanli reign including boxes of square form， lozenge-form boxes， lobed boxes， rectangular boxes and ingot-shaped boxes and many of these shapes are also found in examples produced during the Longqing reign.
The unusual ‘ruyi’ form of the present box and cover， however， appears to be unique with no other known examples published. Another unusual feature of the box is the reign mark which is written as Long Qing nian zao rather than the usual Long Qing nian zhi found on all other known Longqing-marked examples.
Compare the present box with another apparently uniquely-shaped Longqing-marked wucai ‘dragon’ box of cross-form sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong， 23rd October 2005， lot 455. See， also a Longqing-marked ‘dragon’ dish in the Chang Foundation， published in Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties， Taiwan， 1990， pl. 103； another dish in the British Museum， from the Francis Howard Paget Colelction illustrated by J.Harrison-Hall， Ming Ceramics in the British Museum， London， 2001， no.10：8.； and another example in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts， Tokyo， illustrated in Imperial Overglaze-Enamelled Wares in the Late Ming Dynasty， Tokyo， 1995， pl. 16. Longqing-marked blue and white ‘dragon’ boxes include an ingot-shaped box in the National Palace Museum， Taibei， illustrated in Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty， Book VI， Hong Kong， 1963， pl. 2； and a double-lozenge form box illustrated in Chinese Porcelain. The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection， Part I， Hong Kong， 1987， pl. 42.

Price estimate:
HKD： 4,200,000-6,200,000
USD： 541,900-800,000

Auction Result:
HKD: 4,956,000