Antique Vietnamese annamese porcelain lidded box.

Globular form with a slightly countersunk base

Decorated with cobalt underglaze

Lid features central floral medallion with six foliate petals, with its sides decorated with cartouches containing alternating floral and wave motifs. The cartouches extend over the lid to the body, as a method of matching the correct lid to body

These items were a scholarly object, and historically used for diluting a cake of ink (on an inkstone) to obtain the preferred consistency for use in calligraphy or painting.

This and similar lidded ceramic boxes of varying sizes were created in the Chu Dau kiln and were the most common item recovered from the famous Hoi An shipwreck cargo, discovered in the 1990s. Total intact porcelain artifacts recovered numbered above 250,000. Pieces unique to the cargo were kept by the Vietnam government, with the remainder auctioned by Butterfields in San Francisco in 2000.

For more information about identifying these and other shipwreck pieces, please see academic paper, "The Cù Lao Chàm (Hôi An) shipwreck. How to date and identify the ancient Vietnamese porcelains and celadons excavated?" by Philippe Colomban, Nguyen Quang Liem, Tong Tin, and Bui Tri. Hosted on ResearchGate.

Dates to 15th century CE, during the Le dynasty 

Measures approx. 2” x 2”

Scuffs. Polychrome wear as shown. (See pics)