A rare Chinese qingbai cosmetics box and cover Song dynasty 960-1279 AD, moulded in relief with a regular florette design within gadrooned borders, the base with a five character mark moulded in relief which reads duan jia he zi ji (made by the Duan family in Jingdezhen at the Hu Tian kiln), 8.5cm. (2)

Provenance: an English private collection. Purchased from John Sparks Ltd., 30th July 1945, for £30. The original invoice is available.

Cf. S Pierson, Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, p.188, no.102, where a qingbai box and cover with the same mark is illustrated.