Blue and White Porcelain, Scholar in Landscape, Seal Paste Box and Cover.
Chenghua mark, Late Qing Dynasty/early 20th Century.
The circular box and domed cover finely painted in underglaze cobalt blue with a mountainous river landscape. The scene depicts a scholar seated in a waterside pavilion amongst pine trees, with distant mountains and a fisherman on river rock. The composition is rendered in the style of classical Chinese landscape painting, with careful attention to brushwork and perspective. The base inscribed with a six-character Da Ming Chenghua Nian Zhi mark within double circles.
Diameter: approx. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)

Provenance: Retains an old inspection seal from the cultural relics bureau wax seal.

Condition: In excellent condition. The box and cover are free from cracks, chips, or restoration. The cobalt blue is vibrant with minor expected pitting to the glaze, typical of 19th-century wares. The collector’s wax seal is intact.

Note: This seal paste box exemplifies the scholarly taste of the late Qing dynasty. The ‘Chenghua’ mark is apocryphal, a common practice in the 19th century to pay homage to the celebrated wares of the Ming dynasty Chenghua reign (1465-1487). Such boxes were essential accoutrements for a scholar’s desk, used to hold the red cinnabar paste for sealing documents and paintings. The presence of the wax seal indicates it entered a Western collection in the early 20th century.
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