A BLUE AND WHITE CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER.

Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen period, circa 1635-1644.

Of circular form supported on a short tapering foot, the exterior of the box and domed cover decorated with flower heads born on scrolling foliage, the base inscribed with a six character Xuande mark, the interior glazed, with a circular liner pierced with a cash motif, 9cm diameter. (3)

Provenance: Christie’s Amsterdam, Hatcher Collection, 14 March 1984 [label].

明崇禎 青花繪卷草紋印泥盒，青花「大明宣德年製」楷書款

來源：1984年3月14日，Hatcher收藏專場拍賣（標籤）。

This box appears to be a seal paste box, and a number of circular boxes and covers were recovered from the wreck, however pieces including liners were incredibly rare, and are not known from other sources. It has been suggested that they are designed to allow for the control of the amount of rouge in the seal paste.

Chinese porcelain from shipwrecks tell an important story and three major shipwrecks of wares give important information on wares of the 17th and 18th Centuries. The first cargo to come to market was the Hatcher Cargo was the first porcelain cargo from a shipwreck to come on to the market sold over several auctions in Christie`s Amsterdam in 1984 and 1985. Two porcelain covers dated 1643 helped date the wreck but this needed corroborating to give a firm date of the wreck and its cargo. The romance of lost treasures recovered from the sea helped catch the public imagination and the Hatcher Cargo sale which achieved a record result at the time of 13.2 million USD.

The Vung Tau Cargo was discovered in 1989 by Vietnamese fishermen and subsequently sold at Christie's Amsterdam in a two-day sale of 1011 lots on 7th and 8th April 1992. An inkstick in the ship’s cargo bears the cyclical date corresponding to 1690 and much of the porcelain appears to have been created in the decade of 1683 following the reopening of the kilns at Jingdezhen.

The Ca Mau Cargo was discovered around 1998 and was eventually sold in Sotheby's Amsterdam, Ca Mau Shipwreck Sale, 29-31 January 2007. The presence of porcelain with the Yongzheng reign mark allow the wreck to be dated between 1723 and 1735.

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