Blue glass-ceramic ‘Gourds’ box, Qing dynasty, with Daoguang seal

A porcelain box with a circular base and a flattened body, slightly widened in the centre. It is decorated in relief with geometric patterns arranged as borders, and is surmounted by two small gourds modelled in a free-standing manner. 

The exterior of the box is covered with a beautiful turquoise-blue glaze, which is slightly darker in the deeper areas. The interior is bare porcelain with light drops of the blue glaze. On the base is a six-character relief stamp ‘大清道光年制’. 

Height: 7 cm; Diameter: 17 cm; Base diameter: 15 cm