201. RARE BOÎTE COUVERTE EN BRONZE PARTIELLEMENT DORÉ Marque Hu Wenming, XVIIe siècle A RARE PARCEL-GILT BRONZE BOX AND COVER Hu Wenming mark, 17th century Of circular shape, the box with an incurving inner rim supporting the flat cover cast and gilt with a large peony flower and leafy stems issuing from rockwork, the sides similarly cast and gilt with floral sprigs of peonies and chrysanthemums, the recessed base with an incised and gilt four-character mark Hu Wenming zhi in a square. 7.2cm (2 7/8in) diam. (2). 十七世紀 局部鎏金銅花卉紋香盒「胡文明製」款 Provenance: Collection of Johann E.O. Theuerkauf (1904-1951), acquired in Tientsin before 1937, then in the family by descent, acquired from the family 來源： Johann E.O. Theuerkauf（1904-1951）珍藏，於1937年前得於天津，後家族傳承 現藏家得自上述來源 Hu Wenming is among the best known metalworkers of the late Ming. Compare this box with two other parcel-gilt bronze boxes of the same shape but with different design, both bearing a Hu Wenming mark, the first illustrated in Sidney L. Moss Ltd., The Literati Mode, London, 1986, no.143, the second example published in Hugh Moss and Gerald Tsang, Arts from the Scholar's Studio, Hong Kong, 1986, no.231. Related examples include a box and cover decorated with lotus flowers, sold in Christie's Hong Kong, 30 November 2011, lot 3176, and a box and cover decorated with fans, fruit sprays and Buddhist emblems, sold at Christie's London, 6 July 1995, lot 141.