A green-ground famille-verte biscuit 'dragon' pen box and cover, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period

Collection of Edgar (c.1880-1972) and Hedwig (c.1893-1987) Worch, from 1938.

Christie's New York, 2nd June 1994, lot 400.

The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York.

Jie Rui Tang Collection. 

Sotheby's New York, 20th March 2018, lot 351. 

Famille Verte Porcelain of the Kangxi Period, The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 1994, cat. no. 23.

The Chinese Porcelain Company, A Dealer's Record 1985-2000, New York, 2000, p. 121.

The present elongated form with rounded ends is modeled after an Islamic metal prototype known from the 13th century, which was often richly chased and inlaid with gold and silver. Originally closely modeled after the Islamic form, the shape gradually changed to suit the requirements of Chinese calligraphers. Furthermore, decoration on pen boxes often include motifs that convey auspicious messages, as seen on the present example. Chinese porcelain interpretations of the form were first made at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen during the early Ming dynasty and continued to be popular well into the Qing dynasty. Similar examples include a green-ground box with dragons from the Qing Court Collection illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Miscellaneous Enamelled Porcelains Plain Tricoloured Porcelains, Hong Kong 2009, pl. 217; and a yellow-ground example with phoenix in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum, Hong Kong 1989, pl. 102. A white-ground example with dragon motif from the collection of Sir Alfred Beit was sold in our London rooms, November 2013, lot 86.