A VERY RARE DOCUMENTARY TIANQI AND QIANGJIN LACQUER 'DRAGON' BOX AND COVERWanli eight-character mark cyclically dated to the Jiachen year corresponding to 1604 and of the period The square box and cover with canted corners, the cover superbly decorated in polychrome lacquer and gilt with red and black five-clawed dragons, contesting a 'flaming pearl' above turbulent waves and amidst cloud scrolls, all reserved on a diaper ground, the rounded sides with recessed panels incised with peony sprays framed by ruyi -scrolls below and to the corners, the box similarly decorated, the interiors and base lacquered red, the base incised and gilt with the mark Da Ming Wanli jiachen nian zhi , Japanese wood box. 15.9cm (6 1/4in) square. (4). 明萬曆，一六〇四年 戧金填漆海水江崖雙龍戲珠紋方蓋盒 「大明萬曆甲辰年製」楷書款 Provenance: Nagatani Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 2 July 1951. Stephen Junkunc III (d.1978), Illinois 來源：芝加哥Nagatani Inc.，1951年7月2日 史蒂芬•瓊肯三世（1978年逝）舊藏 Notable for the lavish use of gold, conveying a vivid representation of the two Imperial five-clawed dragons contending the flaming pearl, the present box is a fine example of lacquer wares produced for the Court during the Wanli period. It is unclear when the qiangjin technique was first used, but it appears to have already been in use during the third century AD, as seen on the cover of a box discovered in the tomb of Zhou Ran, a high-ranking official, dated 249. Boxes of all shapes and sizes were made during the Wanli period, some in specifically conceived shapes, such as the long rectangular examples used to hold fans, others, such as the present example, which may have been used as a container for a gift of sweetmeats. The animated dragons, a popular design on qiangjin and tianqi lacquerwares during the Jiajing and Wanli periods, can be seen on the covers of several lacquer boxes and covers in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Thepete Colletion of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Lacquer Wares from of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties , Hong Kong, 2006, nos.179, 181, 183 and 186. The auspicious message conveyed by the symbols decorated on the present box, with the juxtaposition of the five-clawed imperial dragons surrounded by ruyi clouds, links the ruler to the wish for long life, a wish that is mirrored in the mountains that symbolise longevity and the sea which represents good fortune. The constant dialogue between different workshops is evident whenparing porcelain and lacquer pieces. For example, diaper patterns originally taken from brocade designs and incorporated into the carved lacquer repertoire in the 14th century began appearing on porcelain designs in the 16th century; see, for example, a Wanli mark and period wucai rectangular box decorated with a pair of dragons in a panel surrounded by a diaper pattern, which was sold at Christie's London, 26 October 1964, lot 96. pare with a related tianqi and qiangjin lacquer square box and co