Chinese 12th C. Yuan Dynasty reversed blue dragon lidded box. Stoutly potted Chinese porcelain unto a slightly flattened round box, with rounded wide cavetto, correspondence dome lid, with qilin myth beast finial bud, raised from rounded sides over a wide cavetto Inner flange circumscribed around the containers lip allows for a perfect fitment of the covering with gilt thick rings lines on the middle rim. All reserved hand painted ornamentations are rendered in clean white underglaze base color which contrast against the deep blue fine color. The dome lid adorned with five claws imperial dragon soaring amidst flames and vapors, with face and upper right appendage outstretched toward the heavens. Vigorous dragons chasing flaming pearl amidst flames against cobalt blue scrolling clouds diaper. The backdrop depicts swirling wind and fire painted atop a beautiful white underglaze. The foot base rim decorated with scrolling flaming clouds. Dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, the Son of Heaven, eternity, Yang and Yin, male vigor and fecundity, the Li-Shui wave pattern which is known to be the abode of dragons. A characteristic heaped and piled effect, the underglaze grayish-blue concentrates in certain areas, bubbling through the surface of the glaze and turning a deep blue-black. This inadvertently gave texture, energy, and shading to the design. The underside unglazed, revealed the pale-creme ground and dark grayish brown spotted firing marks and edge-cut foot rim. The mouth rim reveals the cut edges during the making process, and the base left unglazed with grayish creme-brown ground and dark spots of firing marks.Height:6.25 inWidth: 8.63 inDepth: 8.63 in