A RARE CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL BOX AND COVER, China, ca. 17th ct., of octagonal cross section, with sixteen small lotus panels, the largest panel on top of the cover showing two yellow dragons with Maraka-like features around a stylised shou character, the design mirrored on the bottom of the box, the two side panels showing a red Maraka-like dragon, and the front and back panels showing a yellow dragon en face, its body with Maraka-like tail and hands instead of claws, the large smiling face with two long fangs instead of whiskers. Cf. with a related box and cover of the Jiajing period, Les Arts Décoratifs-musée des Arts décoratifs, Louvre, Gift of David David-Weill illustrated in Quette, Béatrice: Cloisonné - Chinese enamels from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, NY, Paris, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2011, p. 136, fig. 7.12; Cf. with a silk fragment of the 16th ct. showing a dragon of similar facial features: Sotheby's New York, 18 Mar 2017, lot 1446. Dragons with similar claws and tails can be found on a pair of cloisonné enamel vases, Qianlong marks and period, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2013, lot 2061 - Property from an important private collection of Chinese art, assembled between 1985 and 2014 - Minor traces of age, very minor wear