Ming Chinese porcelain lidded ink slab. Stoutly potted porcelain unto a slightly flattened rectangle box, with rectangle wide cavetto, correspondence dome lid, raised from rectangle sides over a wide cavetto. Inner flange circumscribed around the containers lip allows for a perfect fitment of the covering. hand painted ornamentations are rendered in clean white underglaze base color which contrast against cobalt blue fine color. The top dome surface decorated with two enormous front facing blue imperial five-claws dragons standing between fumes clouds and flames above wavy Lishui water. With a blazing pearl looms at the center of the moon flask beneath the dragons gaze, enclosed with single blue square line. The top dome rim decorated with auspicious pattern and key fret motif surrounded the rim. Dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, eternity, Yang and Yin, male vigor and fecundity, the Li-Shui wave pattern which is known to be the abode of dragons. Waves are known to serve as the dragons abode, with the dragon representing the Emperor and imperial household. A characteristic heaped and piled effect, the underglaze cobalt blue concentrates in certain areas, bubbling through the surface of the glaze and turning a deep blue-black. This inadvertently gave texture, energy and shading to the design. The glaze stopping before the foot rim, revealed the pale-creme ground, with orange and grayish firing marks. The clay is very fine, with a brilliant glaze finish that was applied by a meticulous, the shape is uniformly proportioned.


The under-side bears a reign mark, a horizontal six underglaze blue seal script characters reign mark, enclosed within a rectangular frame border, Made In The Years of Wanli Reign Period of The Great Ming Dynasty.

Measurements: 1-7/8" H x 7-1/8" W

Over all in EXCELLENT Condition.
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