A Safavid Blue and White Workbox, Persia, 17th CenturyOf square form, worked with nine shaped compartments each painted with a flower head inside, the exterior painted with spirals of scrolling vines, the sides formed with shaped aprons supported by four feet on each corner, 2.9 x 6.4 x 6.4 in — 7.4 x 16.3 x 16.3 cmNote:Many Safavid potteries were a product of kilns located in the province of Kirman (modern day Kerman, Iran). Fine Ming dynasty Chinese porcelains had been imported into Iran since the fourteenth century, forming a number of impressive and highly-treasured royal and private collections. When supplies of this highly revered commodity began to dwindle in the seventeenth century, local craftsmen had wealth of material to study from. The result was a unique product of local city workshops and artisans, which interpreted standard Ming elements such as Kraak-style panels, lotus scrolls, and lappets, into their own definitive works of art under the Safavid Empire.Compare with an example sold at Bonhams London, March 29, 2022, lot 79Estimate: $1,800—2,000