19TH CENTURY

'Puddingstone' is a generic term applied to any conglomerate sedimentary rock that is characterized by colorful inclusions. The conglomerate is composed of pebbles that have been worn smooth by water and have been cemented together by a finer mineral deposit. This finer mineral deposit fills in the spaces between the pebbles and forms a solid rock. The particular puddingstone that was admired in China was formed from pebbles of jasper cemented together with quartz, and it is this that the ceramic decorator of the current box has so successfully recreated on porcelain.

An identically-shaped box and cover decorated with a slight variation of this pattern was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 22 March 1993, lot 772. A very similarly decorated round box and cover from the collection of Sir Harry and Lady Garner, now in the Meiyintang Collection, is illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 2, London, 1994, p. 267, no. 954, where the author dates it to the early 19th century. Compare, also, a Qianlong-period faux-puddingstone quadrilobed box and cover from the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 25 March 2010, lot 877.