A four-tiered Arita porcelain blue and white box and cover

17th century, Japan

Height: 21cm Width: 13cm

The four-tiered underglaze blue and white Arita porcelain box is decorated with four quatrefoil shaped panels set against a background of water waves. The panels depict bamboo, a plum tree twice, and a pine tree each with a partial swastika ground. The cover similarly painted but with a mixed flowering sprig to the centre. The interior and base are glazed plain white.