The cover is decorated with a shaped panel enclosing floral scrolls, all reserved on ground of dense 'golden horn' scrolls. The box base is decorated with four cartouches enclosing scrolling flowers, all reserved on a honeycomb ground, the side with a Xuande mark. Length 23 cm. CATALOGUE NOTE From the 13th century onwards, pen boxes of forms similar to the present lot were an essential part of the Islamic calligrapher’s tools. Since the travels to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa of the admiral Zhenghe during the Yongle emperor's reign, the Chinese court held a fascination with the culture and art of the Islamic world, and the form of the present box is an example of such. Based on a metal prototype, the porcelain versions began to be fired at Chinese kilns in the early 15th century.