BoxesChinese8th century

Circular covered box

8th century

Description

Circular box with straight sides, slightly domed cover, and decoration of green dots against a caramel-brown ground; white earthenware with copper-green and iron-brown lead-fluxed glazes on the exterior; underside of lid and base unglazed. Sancai ware. From northern China, Henan, Hebei, or Shaanxi province.

Classification

Boxes

Technique

Lead glaze

Medium

Earthenware with three-color (sancai) lead glaze

Culture

Chinese

Period

Tang dynasty, 618-907

Century

8th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

with cover: H. 3.4 x Diam. 9.3 cm (1 5/16 x 3 11/16 in.)

Provenance

[Christie's, New York, 16 September 1999, sale number Kang-9210, lot. 290] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.

Related Artworks

Boxes

Tall Foliate Box with Cover

Lacquer

Marble

Unknown Artist, second half 12th century

Inlaid celadon ware: light gray stoneware with celadon glaze over incised decoration inlaid in white slip; the inner rim banded with metal

12th centuryKorean

Boxes

Oval Tsugaru-nuri Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) with Sage, Attendant, and Crane Design

Ogawa Haritsu, Mid Edo period, early 18th century

Lacquer on wood with decoration in tsugaru-nuri (layered sabi urushi [thick lacquer paste] and colored lacquers with sprinkled silver powder and raden [mother-of-pearl] flakes, textured with circular gouging), colored lacquers, gold, and sabi urushi utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design) and takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design) techniques, and with glazed-ceramic and raden inlays

18th centuryJapanese

Boxes

Small Jade Square Covered Box with Rounded Corners and with Stylized Floral Decor (One of Two)

Unknown Artist, late 18th-19th century, probably early 19th century

Pale greenish white nephrite

18th-19th centuryChinese

Boxes

Scroll Box (Fubako) with Miscellaneous Crest Design

Unknown Artist, Late Edo period, late 18th century

Lacquer on wood with decoration in gold utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground), and kanagai (sheet-gold appliqué) techniques; metal fittings and silk cord

18th centuryJapanese

Boxes

Scholar's Chest with Hinged Cover, Lock, and Two Side Handles and with "Tae-Geuk" Decor

Unknown Artist, 18th century

Rosewood with metal (brass and copper?) fittings, the interior of the box lined with silk damask

Lacquer on wood

Edward Smith, 1831-1832

Silver, gilt

19th centuryBritish

Boxes

Small, Circular, Covered Box, the Domed Cover with Decoration of a Butterfly

Unknown Artist, probably 9th century

Off-white stoneware with pale celadon glaze over decoration applied in white slip, the decoration embellished with incising and with touches of iron-brown slip in localized areas. Possibly from the Yaozhou kilns, near Tongchuan, Shaanxi province.

9th centuryChinese

Boxes

Small Container (Kobako) with Samurai Accouterments Design

Unknown Artist, Mid to Late Edo period, late 18th century

Lacquer on wood with decoration in gold and sabi urushi (thick lacquer paste) utilizing the hiramaki-e (low-relief sprinkled design), takamaki-e (high-relief sprinkled design), and nashiji ("pear-skinned" ground) techniques, applied kirigane (cut gold), and with raden (mother-of-pearl) inlays

18th centuryJapanese

Boxes

Small Rectangular Covered Box with Floral Decor

Unknown Artist, 19th-20th century

Blue-and-white ware: porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze cobalt blue

19th-20th centuryChinese