This circular box was constructed on a potter’s wheel. The peony spray and fluted bands have been moulded onto the cover by pressing the vessel into a mould with a pre-carved decoration. This method was used in preference to directly carved methods used at Jingdezhen, presumably to meet high demands for these wares. Small covered boxes were used as containers for a range of substances - seal paste, ink powder or for salt if exported to Europe. This form continued to be produced over a long period of time, from at least circa 1690 to the early 19th century.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
