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Dish with flowering gardenia, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period, AD 1488–1505

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Dish with flowering gardenia, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period, AD 1488–1505

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Dish with flowering gardenia, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period, AD 1488–1505, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze. Height: 47 mm, Diameter: 264 mm. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A773 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain dish. Decorated inside with gardenia floral spray in the centre and sprays of pomegranate, persimmon, grapevine and lotus in the cavetto. Gardenia scrolls on the exterior. All motifs painted in underglaze blue on yellow overglaze enamel ground. There is a mark on the base. 

This design, invented in the early fifteenth century, was made continuously for one hundred years at Jingdezhen with minor variations and later was revived in the Qing dynasty (AD 1644–1911). The dish is decorated inside with gardenia and sprays of pomegranate, persimmon, grapevine and lotus in the cavetto. The branches have ragged ends, following a well-known convention, indicating they were broken from a tree. On the exterior are gardenia scrolls and a six-character Hongzhi reign mark written on the base.


Dish with underglaze blue decoration reserved on a pale yellow enamel ground, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

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Dish with underglaze blue decoration reserved on a pale yellow enamel ground, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

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Dish with underglaze blue decoration reserved on a pale yellow enamel ground, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze. Height: 5 cm, Diameter: 26 cm. Bequeathed by Francis Edward Howard Paget, 1945,1016.3 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain dish with underglaze blue decoration reserved on a pale yellow enamel ground. This dish has rounded sides, an everted rim and a low tapering foot cut inwards towards the base. It is decorated with flowering and fruiting plants reserved against a contrasting pale yellow enamel ground. Inside in a medallion is a branch of flowering and budding gardenia and in the cavetto are pomegranates, persimmons, grapes and ribboned lotus. Outside is a continuous scroll of camellias. Underglaze blue double lines emphasize the inner and outer rim, foot and join of foot to dish. In the centre of the base in a double ring is a six-character underglaze blue reign mark of the Xuande emperor. Formerly this dish was broken into two large pieces and riveted together, but now it has been restored using more modern methods. 

A dish of this type was excavated in the Xuande stratum at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, in 1984. Another is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei. From the Xuande period until the Jiajing era this type of dish was made with two basic designs. Xuande, Hongzhi, Zhengde and Jiajing examples are marked on the base with six-character reign marks beneath a blue-tinged glaze. Chenghua examples generally have an unglazed base and are marked by the outer rim with a reign mark in a horizontal line. The blue used to paint the flowers on the Chenghua examples is also much paler. (Harrison-Hall 2001 4:43).

Dish with floral and fruit design, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505)

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Dish with floral and fruit design, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505)

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Dish with floral and fruit design, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505), Jingdezhen kilns, south China. Porcelain painted in cobalt blue, the white ground filled with yellow enamel. Diameter: 26 cm. C.320-1921 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017.

In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Jingdezhen became the major ceramic-manufacturing centre. Imperial kilns were established to produce fine porcelain for the exclusive use of the emperors. The tradition of inscribing the emperor's reign title on the wares also started in the Ming. This dish with blue decoration on a yellow ground is typical of the Hongzhi reign period.

Dish with Floral and Fruit Sprays ("Gardenia Dish"), Ming dynasty, Hongzhi reign mark and period (1488-1505)

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Dish with Floral and Fruit Sprays ('Gardenia Dish'), Ming dynasty, Hongzhi reign mark and period (1488-1505)

Dish with Floral and Fruit Sprays ("Gardenia Dish"), Ming dynasty, Hongzhi reign mark and period (1488-1505). Porcelain painted in underglaze blue and overglaze yellow enamel. Diam: 25.6 cm (10 1/8 in.). Charles H. and Mary F. Worcester Collection Fund, 2016.97 © Art Institute of Chicago

NDB: This dish was bought at Sotheby's, Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 mars 2016. Cf. my post: A rare underglaze-blue and yellow enamel 'gardenia' dish, Hongzhi mark and period)

A yellow-ground blue and white 'Gardenia' dish, Hongzhi six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1488-1505)

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A yellow-ground blue and white 'Gardenia' dish, Hongzhi six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1488-1505)

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Lot 3114. A yellow-ground blue and white 'Gardenia' dish, Hongzhi six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1488-1505), 10 3/8 in. (26.3 cm.) diam. Estimate 4,800,000 - HKD 9,000,000. Lot sold 7,240,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

Well potted with low rounded sides rising to slightly flaring rims, the dish is finely painted in underglaze-blue with a central gardenia spray bearing two flowers and buds, the cavetto with evenly spaced sprays of nine grapes on a leafy fine, a beribboned lotus flower and pod, a gnarled branch laden with two pomegranates and a persimmon branch with two fruits. The exterior is painted with seven rose blossoms on a continuous meander, all on a rich Imperial yellow ground within double-line borders.

ProvenanceFrancis Edward Howard Paget (1886-1945)
Peter Boode Antiques, London, 1947, purchased for 26 pounds
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 217

Literature: E.E. Bluett, Ming and Ch'ing Porcelains, London, 1933, Plate IX, no. 22
E.E. Bluett, The Riesco Collection of Old Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, circa 1951, p. 18, fig. 22
London Borough of Croydon, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, Croydon, 1987, p. 8, no. 63 

ExhibitedOriental Ceramic Society, The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, London, 15 November - 14 December, 1957, Catalogue no. 198
Oriental Ceramic Society, Ceramic Art of China, London, 9 June - 25 July, 1971, Catalogue no. 163

NoteDishes of this design were first produced during the Xuande period, and continued through the Jiajing reign, peaking in popularity during the Hongzhi and Zhengde periods. A Xuande prototype of almost identical size (25.6 cm.) was included in Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, p. 89, no. 88; and another formerly in the collections of Wu Lai-hsi and Francis Howard Paget, bequeathed by the later to the British Museum, illustrated by Jessica Harrison-Hall in Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, p. 141, no. 4:43.

Dish with underglaze blue decoration reserved on a pale yellow enamel ground, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

Dish with underglaze blue decoration reserved on a pale yellow enamel ground, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426-1435), Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze. Height: 5 cm, Diameter: 26 cm. Bequeathed by Francis Edward Howard Paget, 1945,1016.3 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

A number of Hongzhi-marked dishes of this design can be found in important museums. One is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 256, no. 231, together with a Chenghua example, p. 254, no. 229, and a Zhengde example, p. 258, no. 233; one is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Blue-and-White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book IV, Hong Kong, 1963, no. 11; an example formerly in the Carl Kempe collection, and now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, vol. 9, fig. 226; one from the Rogers Fund in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is illustrated by Suzanne G. Valenstine, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, fig. 152; the dish in the Baur Collection, illustrated by John Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, vol. I, Geneva, 1999, p. 118, no. 65, together with a dish of identical design but in a brown and white colour palette, p. 119, no. 66; one is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by John Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, fig. 153; one in the Percival David collection, now housed in the British Museum, is included in the Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1966, no. A740; two other examples are illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, nos. 797 and 804; and another was included in the Idemitsu Museum's 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Tokyo, 1981, no. 796.

Dish with Gardenia, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), late 16th century

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Dish with Gardenia, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), late 16th century. Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under and colored enamel over transparent glaze (Jingdezhen ware. Diam. 10 1/4 in. (26 cm), Rogers Fund, 1919, 19.28.10 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Dish with floral and fruit design, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505)

Dish with floral and fruit design, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505), Jingdezhen kilns, south China. Porcelain painted in cobalt blue, the white ground filled with yellow enamel. Diameter: 26 cm. C.320-1921 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017.

Dish with flowering gardenia, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period, AD 1488–1505

Dish with flowering gardenia, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period, AD 1488–1505, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze. Height: 47 mm, Diameter: 264 mm. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF A773 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Several similar dishes can also be found in private collections: one was included in the exhibition at Indianapolis Museum of Art Beauty and Tranquility: The Eli Lilly Collection of Chinese Art, 1983, no. 97; a dish from the collection of Sir Harry Garner is illustrated by Soame Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1953, pl. 57A(i), together with a Xuande and a Chenghua example from the British Museum, pls. 56A and B respectively, and a smaller Zhengde dish from the collection of H.R.H. Palmer, pl. 57A(ii); one from the Edward T. Chow Collection, Part III, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19 May 1981, lot 443; and another from the Toguri Collection, sold at Sotheby's London, 9 June 2004, lot 22; and one in the collections of Christina Loke Balsara and Robert Chang, last sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 28 November 2006, lot 1314. 

Christie's. The R.F.A Riesco Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, 27 November 2013, Hong Kong

A very rare early Ming blue and white bowl, Yongle period(1403-1424)

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A very rare early Ming blue and white bowl, Yongle period(1403-1424)

Lot 1452. A very rare early Ming blue and white bowl, Yongle period(1403-1424), 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000. Price realised HKD 840,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2007

Finely potted with the straight sides tapering to a narrow foot ring, delicately painted on the interor in rich cobalt blue tones and rendered in delicate pencil design to depict a dianthus scroll on the cavetto, borne on an undulating vine growing long bladed leaves, above a band of interlocking spearheads on an interconnected stem, surrounding concentric circles enclosing a single floral medallion, all below a zig-zag band dividing clusters of circles under the mouth rim, the exterior with a band of composite floral scroll above four za bao, miscellaneous treasures, each divided by a stylised floral bloom, further decorated with bladed leaves above the slightly tapered wedge-shaped foot ring.

Note: The present bowl is known as jixin, 'chicken heart-shaped' bowl, deriving its name from a steep interior which corresponds with a slightly protruding exterior on the base. Two bowls decorated with this exact pattern and almost the same size, are published. The first, from the collection of Mrs Walter Sedgwick, illustrated by S. Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, pl. 28A; and the other, a bequest from Mrs W. Roberts, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by J. Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1980, p. 46, dated to the early 15th century. The motifs employed on the present bowl and the published bowls are typical of Yongle blue and white wares. Compare the stylised floral blooms on the exterior of the bowl with those found decorating the back of a spoon excavated from Zhushan, included in the exhibition, Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods, Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, Hong Kong, 1989, illustrated in the Catalogue, 165, no. 41. It has been noted that this floral bloom motif originated from Buddhism, and is found to decorate the pages of a book of Buddhist chants published in 1419, see, ibid., p. 67.

A bowl with this same size and pattern from the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Early Ming Period Porcelain, 1984, no. 24. This rare design continued into the Xuande period and is found on a bowl of this same pattern, and size, bearing a Xuande six-character mark on the base, from the Riesco collection. The Riesco bowl was included in the exhibition The Ceramic Art of China, The Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1972, and is illustrated in the Catalogue, no. pl. 108, no. 153. 

The interlinked trefoil on the interior and the composite floral band on the exterior mouth rim both relate well to bowls with a concave base, known as mantou xin or 'mantou-heart' bowls, such as the bowl excavated at Dongmentou, Zhushan, included in the exhibition, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, 1996, and illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 228-9, no. 83; where it is mentioned that this style of decoration was an influence from Islamic Middle East. Compare with two related mantou xin bowls of the Yongle period both decorated with Persian inscriptions below the exterior mouth rim, the first in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the Special Exhibition of Early Ming Porcelains, 1982, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 29; and the other from the E. T. Chow and T. Y. Chao Collections, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 18 November 1986, lot 41, and illustrated in Blue and White Porcelains in the Collection of the Tianminlou Foundation, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 222. no. 94. 

 

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 29 May 2007, Hong Kong

Bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-24)

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Bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-24)

Bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-24),  China (Jingdezhen), porcelain painted in underglaze blue. Diameter: 15.9 cm, Height: 8.1 cm. Given by Mrs W. Roberts in memory of A.D. Brankston, C.15-1952 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017.

Bowl, hemispherical body becoming slightly pointed towards base, rather high footrim trimmed flat, the underside of the base being slightly conical. Inside a running scroll of leaves and rosette-like flowers, below a border composed of bisected trefoils disposed alternately in the angles of a zigzag line. In the centre, a quatrefoil rosette within a narrow border, encircled by a row of ogival panels interlaced by a series of linked trefoils. Outside four formalised flowers alternating with decorative motives below a narrow border of running plant-scroll. Round the footring, a running wave-scroll. Radiating from the base, a calyx of lanceolate leaf-forms.

Lianzi [lotus-seed] bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424)

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Lianzi [lotus-seed] bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424)

Lianzi [lotus-seed] bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Jingdezhen, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Diameter: 14 cm, Height: 7 cm. Bequeathed by Mrs. Walter Sedgwick, 1968,0422.28 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum 

This lianzi [lotus-seed] bowl has deep conical sides which emerge from a very narrow foot ring and curve slightly inwards at the rim. The glazed base rises to a central nipple. Beneath a blue-white glaze it is painted in dark cobalt blue with concentric bands of designs inside. In the centre is a stylized four-petalled flower, surrounded by a band of eight half-flowers formed of dots, with leaves. Around this is a ring of circles woven through with lines which reach trefoil points inside each circle. Above this is a scroll of Chinese pinks with eight blooms. Around the rim is a zigzag line with half-flowers on either side and pendant spearheads below. Outside the foot is painted with classic scroll, and sixteen long thin lotus petals radiate from the foot, each surmounted by a trefoil. Above this a chrysanthemum, peony, pink and lotus are depicted separated by auspicious emblems such as an ingot, rhinoceros horn, branch coral and chimes. The rim is painted with a lotus scroll and pendant trefoils. The glaze is crackled, which may have resulted from a later fire (see BM 1963.0520.1).


A very rare blue and white bowl, lianzi wan, Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435)

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A very rare blue and white bowl, lianzi wan, Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435)

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Lot 3109. A very rare blue and white bowl, lianzi wan, Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435), 6 1/4 in. (15.9 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 3,800,000 - HKD 6,000,000Price realised HKD 6,640,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

Of conical form, the bowl is finely potted in the shape of a lotus pod,lianzi, with deep rounded sides rising from a cylindrical foot curving slightly inwards at rim. It is delicately painted on the interior with a central medallion containing a quatrefoil motif, surrounded by a band of eight half-florettes formed of dots with leaves, further enclosed by a band of interlocking spearheads conjoined spearheads borne on a scroll of interlinked trefoil, all below a dianthus scroll with eight blooms to the cavetto, and a narrow band of zigzag line with half-florettes at rim. The exterior is painted with a border of floral scroll at rim above four Za Bao, Miscellaneous Treasures, each interspersed by a stylised floral bloom, and is further decorated with sixteen lotus petals encircling the base above a classic scroll around the foot. 

ProvenanceA.D. Brankston (1909-1941)
H.R.N. Norton, London, 1953
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 220c

LiteratureA.D. Brankston, Early Ming Wares of Chingtechen, Beijing, 1938, pl. 5a
Sir Harry Garner, Oriental Blue and White, London, 1954, Pl. 30C
London Borough of Croydon, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, Croydon, 1987, p. 11, no. 90 

ExhibitedOriental Ceramic Society, London, Ceramic Art of China, 9 June - 25 July, 1971, Catalogue No. 153. 

NoteThe current bowl is known as a lianzi wan, or lotus bowl, for its similarity in form to that of a lotus pod. The form originated in the Yongle period, and retained its popularity in the reign of Xuande, as demonstrated by a group of Xuande-marked lianzi bowls in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, published in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 360-377, nos. 153-161, where examples in both blue and white and monochrome white are illustrated under each of the three size categories: large (20.4-20.7 cm. in diameter), medium (15.9 - 16.0 cm.) and small (10.0-10.1 cm.). The present bowl is nearly identical in size and decoration to one of the two medium-sized blue and white examples cited, see ibid., pp. 370-1, no. 158, where it is noted that the bowl is closely modelled after its earlier Yongle prototype, though the unmarked prototype is lighter in weight and is potted with a narrower foot ring. The other medium-sized blue and white example illustrated has a similar decoration on the interior save for the omission of the dianthus scroll to the cavetto, and the replacement with a cash diaper border to the rim, while the exterior has a more simplified decoration with a band of stylised petals encircling the base between a narrow border of key fret at foot and another at rim. This decoration is the more common of the two, other examples of this type include another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Ming Xuande ciqi tezhan, Taipei, 1980, no. 43; one published in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 12, Shanghai, 1999-2000, pl. 66; and another illustrated by A.D. Brankston in Early Ming Wares of Chingtechen, Beijing, 1938, pl. 13d, where the underside is compared to that of an unmarked Yongle prototype, pl. 7 c and d.

Apart from the above-mentioned example in the National Palace Museum, no other Xuande-marked lianzi bowl bearing the current decoration appears to be published, though several examples of its Yongle prototype are known, including one in the National Palace Museum, published in Catalogue of a Special Exhibition of Early Ming Period, Taipei, 1984, no. 24; and one bequeathed by Mrs. Walter Sedgwick to the British Museum, illustrated by S. Jenyns in Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 2001, p. 113 no. 28A; another, a bequest of Mrs. W. Roberts, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated by J. Ayers in Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, no. 46, where it has been dated to early 15th century; a fourth from the Ardebil Shrine, now in the National Museum of Iran, illustrated by T. Misugi in Chinese Porcelain Collections in the Near East Topkapi and Ardebil, vol. 3, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 137, no. A. 53; and another sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1452. 

Lianzi [lotus-seed] bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424)

Lianzi [lotus-seed] bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Jingdezhen, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Diameter: 14 cm, Height: 7 cm. Bequeathed by Mrs. Walter Sedgwick, 1968,0422.28 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum.

Bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-24)

Bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-24),  China (Jingdezhen), porcelain painted in underglaze blue. Diameter: 15.9 cm, Height: 8.1 cm. Given by Mrs W. Roberts in memory of A.D. Brankston, C.15-1952 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2017. 

A very rare early Ming blue and white bowl, Yongle period(1403-1424)

A very rare early Ming blue and white bowl, Yongle period(1403-1424), 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) diam. Sold HKD 840,000 at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2007, lot 1452 © Christie's Images Ltd 2007

It is interesting to compare the decoration on the current bowl to that on the mantou xin bowl in this sale, lot 3107. The two are closely related in both having a completely decorated surface on the interior, comprised of similar concentric bands surrounding a central floral medallion, and in both bearing a narrow band of floral scroll above a border of interlinked pendent trefoils below the exterior rim.

Christie's. The R.F.A Riesco Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, 27 November 2013, Hong Kong

A very rare early Ming blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

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A very rare early Ming blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande six-character mark with a double circle and of the period (1426-1435)

Lot 1074. A very rare early Ming blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande six-character mark with a double circle and of the period (1426-1435), 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 500,000 - HKD 700,000. Price Realized HKD 1,519,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2004

Finely potted with shallow rounded sides flaring to the mouth rims, decorated on the interior convex medallion with four stylised pointed petals, enclosed by a floral scroll within double-line borders below a further band of upright petals each interlocked by spearheads borne on an inter-connected stem, encircled with a freize of classic scrolls below the mouth rim, the exterior decorated with a register of delicately painted lotus scroll above overlapping lotus petals enclosing the neat foot, the concave base bearing the reign mark (crack restored) 

NoteAn identical Xuande-marked bowl from the Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, is illustrated by D. Lion Goldschmidt, La Porcelaine Ming, 1978, p. 102, pl. 75.

It is evident that the present bowl followed closely in design and shape to its earlier Yongle prototype. Compare this exact arrangement of floral registers on a Yongle bowl included in the exhibition, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Chang Foundation, 1996, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 228, pl. 83; where the author notes its Islamic form and decoration as being influenced by trade with the Middle East in the Yongle period. 

Compare with two related bowls of the Yongle period, both decorated with Persian inscriptions below the exterior mouth rims, the first in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, included in the Special Exhibition of Early Ming Porcelains, 1982, illustrated in the Catalogue, no. 29; and the other from the E. T. Chow and T. Y. Chao Collections, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 18 November 1986, lot 41, and illustrated in Blue and White Porcelains in the Collection of the Tianminlou Foundation, Hong Kong, 1996, p. 222, no. 94. Also compare a Yongle bowl with a floral band below the exterior mouth rim in the British Museum collection, illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, fig. 3:27. 

 

Mantou bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424)

Mantou bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Jingdezhen, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Diameter: 13.3 cm, Height: 4.5 cm. 1953,0415.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 1 November 2004, Hong Kong

Mantou bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424)

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Mantou bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424)

Mantou bowl, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403-1424), Jingdezhen, porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Diameter: 13.3 cm, Height: 4.5 cm. 1953,0415.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

This shallow bowl has a domed centre known as a mantou xin [steamed bun centre], corresponding concave base and rounded sides which flare outwards. It is painted beneath the glaze in very dark cobalt blue which has fired black in places. Inside it is decorated with a concentric design with a stylized four-petalled flower in the centre, surrounded by a band of flower scroll and a further band with ruyi heads, encircled and linked by looped tendrils. The inner rim has a border of pendant spearheads linked together and the outer rim is bordered with a band of chrysanthemums. Around the foot, issuing from the base, is a band of overlapping large and small lotus petals, outlined in blue with blue centres. 

This bowl is dated by stylistic comparison to a bowl of similar size, shape and decoration, excavated in 1994 in the Yongle stratum at Dongmentou, Zhushan, Jingdezhen. The form of this bowl is related to Mamluk metal work, possibly incised silver ware, in which the spearhead looped border may be found. Harrison-Hall 2001 3:27

A superb and exceptionally rare blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

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A superb and exceptionally rare blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435)

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Lot 3107. A superb and exceptionally rare blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435), 6 3/4 in. (17.3 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 4,000,000 - HKD 6,000,000Price realised HKD 4,840,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

The bowl is exquisitely potted with shallow rounded sides flaring to the mouth rim, and rests on a concave base. It is decorated on the interior domed centre with a hexafoil motif, enclosed by a band of conjoined petals each enclosing a trefoil borne on an inter-connected stem, further encircled by a wide register of scrolling lotus around the shallow sides and a narrow band of conjoined cash diaper at the rim. The exterior is decorated with a delicate band of lotus scroll and pendent trefoil border at top, and a band of conjoined petals containing joined trefoils above a band of classic scroll at base.

Provenance: Major Lindsay Fitzgerald Hay (1891-1946)
Sold at Sotheby's London, 25 June 1946, lot 44
Bluett & Sons, London, 1946, purchased for 69 pounds
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 206a 

LiteratureLondon Borough of Croydon, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, Croydon, 1987, p. 11, no. 88 

Exhibited: Oriental Ceramic Society, London, Ming Blue-and-White Porcelain, 24 October-21 December, 1946, Catalogue, no. 10
Oriental Ceramic Society, London, Loan Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White Porcelain 14th to 19th Centuries, 16 December 1953-23 January 1954, Catalogue, no. 69
Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Arte Cinese, 1954, Catalogue, no. 644

NoteThe name mantou xin is derived from the domed interior centre which resembles a mantou bun. The form first appeared during the Yongle period and remained popular in the Xuande period, it was probably inspired from Mamluk metalwork as a result of trade with the Middle East in the Yongle period.

While similar mantou xin bowls are known, no other example bearing the same decoration appears to be published. The Riesco bowl distinguishes itself from the rest in that it has a hexafoil motif on the domed centre, and is completely decorated on the interior with successive concentric borders, whereas all the other examples have a quatrefoil motif and a band of undecorated space to their interior well. 

The decoration on most of the extant Xuande mantou xin bowls are modelled faithfully after a Yongle prototype, which unlike the current design, has an additional narrow band of floral scroll around the domed centre, but lacks the prominent frieze of scrolling lotus above, leaving a white band of space to the cavetto. Also, the border on the interior rim has been replaced by a classic scroll, with the exterior base encircled by overlapping lappets in lieu of two decorative bands. See a Yongle example bearing such decoration in the exhibition, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1996, pp. 228-9, no. 83. Compare a Xuande example in The National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 296-7, no. 121; another in the Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, illustrated by D. Lion Goldschmidt, La Porcelaine Ming, 1978, p. 102, pl. 75; another in the collection of the Umezawa Memorial Hall, Tokyo, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, p. 159, fig. 20; and a fourth sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 1074 (fig. 1 and fig. 2).

A very rare early Ming blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande six-character mark with a double circle and of the period (1426-1435)

A very rare early Ming blue and white mantou xin bowl , Xuande six-character mark with a double circle and of the period (1426-1435), 6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm.) diam. Sold for HKD 1,519,750 at  Christie's Hong Kong, 1 November 2004, lot 1074© Christie's Images Ltd 2004

The National Palace Museum also has a slightly smaller example carrying this more common decoration, but without the classic scroll at the interior rim and the lotus petal band on exterior base, see op. cit., pp. 298-9, no. 122; and another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 167, no. 158. 

Interestingly, the design on the interior of the current bowl, though unseen on any other mantou xin examples, is strikingly similar to that on the lianzi bowl in this sale, lot 3109, which shares a fully decorated surface with a floral medallion surrounded by successive decorative bands, including a related band of conjoined petals interlocked with trefoils borne on interconnected stem, and a broad frieze of dianthus scroll to the cavetto.

 

Christie's. The R.F.A Riesco Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, 27 November 2013, Hong Kong

A rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

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A rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

Lot 505. A rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435). Estimate 2,500,000 — 3,500,000 HKD. Lot sold 2,920,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

supported on a straight foot rounding to generous deep sides and flaring elegantly at the rim, the exterior painted in deep tones of 'heaping and piled' cobalt-blue with a continuous band of delicately scrolling stems of lotus, each branch issuing one of two styles of lotus flower-heads and a myriad of curling leaves, all above bands of upright foliate lappets and a dotted floral pattern at the foot, the interior with a central medallion with a leafy spray of peony, all encircled by a band of detached lotus branches below a further dotted floral border at the rim, the base inscribed with a six-character mark within a double-circle and the unglazed footring burnt slightly russet in the firing.

Sotheby's. A Collection of Exceptional Imperial Porcelain, Hong Kong, 02 mai 2005

A fine and rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435)

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A fine and rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435)

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Lot 3110. A fine and rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1426-1435), 8 3/8 in. (21.2 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 4,000,000 - HKD 6,000,000Price realised HKD 5,080,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

Finely potted with deep rounded sides rising to slightly flaring rims, the centre of the interior is painted with a central medallion with a leafy spray of peony, encircled by six lotus sprays to the cavetto, and below a border of dotted prunus blossoms at the rim. The exterior is delicately painted with a broad band of six lotus blooms depicted in two styles, borne on a continuous scroll burgeoning myriad of curling leaves, all above a band of upright lappets and another border of dotted prunus blossoms surrounding the foot.

Provenance: Bluett & Sons, London, 1937
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 169

LiteratureE.E. Bluett, The Riesco Collection of Old Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, circa 1951, p. 12, fig. 12
London Borough of Croydon, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, Croydon, 1987, p. 11, no. 89 

NoteWith its fine potting and elegant decoration, the current bowl is a classic example of Xuande porcelain, and is particularly distinguished by the border of dotted prunus blossoms at rims, a motif that first appeared on Yongle porcelain, as seen on the exterior rims of two small Yongle-marked blue and white 'press-hand' cups, or yashoubei, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, pp. 81-2, nos. 78-9. These somewhat abstract florettes, spaciously arranged and seemingly effortless painted, imbue the otherwise stylised design with a sense of space and liveliness.

Compare a nearly identical example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 328-9, no. 137; one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2000, p. 160, no. 152. In Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Lu Minghua in Mingdai guanyao ciqi, p. 117, fig. 3-35; another sold at Christie's Tokyo, 16-17 February 1980, lot 784, and illustrated by Anthony du Boulay in Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, Oxford, 1984, p. 116, fig. 5; and one sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 2005, lot 505. 

A rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435)

A rare blue and white 'Lotus' bowl , Xuande mark and period (1426-1435). Sold  for 2,920,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 2005, lot 505. Photo: Sotheby's.

Christie's. The R.F.A Riesco Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, 27 November 2013, Hong Kong

Bowl with underglaze blue lotus flowers, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD 1426–35

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Bowl with underglaze blue lotus flowers, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD 1426–35

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Bowl with underglaze blue lotus flowers, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD 1426–35, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and yellow glaze. Height: 80 mm, Diameter: 171 mm. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF.682 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain bowl with rounded sides, everted mouthrim and wide foot. There are scrolling lotus flowers and leaves between a band of squared spirals at the mouthrim, a band of separated lotus flowers, classic scrolls around the foot, a roundel in the centre of the interior with a single lotus flower head and scrolling leaves, and bands of lotus flowers and leaves around the cavetto. There is a mark on the base. 

The Xuande emperor, despite reigning for just ten years, commissioned an extraordinary variety of forms and patterns from the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. This bowl has an underglaze blue Xuande mark on the base. 


Blue-and-white bowl with lotus scrolls, Ming Dynasty, Xuande Period (1426 - 1435)

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Blue-and-white bowl with lotus scrolls, Ming Dynasty, Xuande Period (1426 - 1435)

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Blue-and-white bowl with lotus scrolls, Ming Dynasty, Xuande Period (1426 - 1435), Jingdezhen, Zhushan kiln-sites, porcelain, with underglaze painting in cobalt-blue, 7.6 cm (height), 17.4 cm (diameter), at foot 8 cm (diameter). Bequeathed by J. Francis Mallett, 1947. EAX.1409 © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Dish with Buddhist emblems, Ming dynasty, Chenghua mark and period, AD1465–87

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Dish with Buddhist emblems, Ming dynasty, Chenghua mark and period, AD1465–87

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Dish with Buddhist emblems, Ming dynasty, Chenghua mark and period, AD1465–87, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Height: 40 mm, Diameter: 192 mm. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF,B.627 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain dish. Underglaze blue with band of scrolling Buddhist emblems entwined in leaves around the exterior and inside cavetto. Large central roundel with a Buddhist wheel supported on a lotus flower. There is an inscription on the base. 

This dish is painted in underglaze blue with the 八吉祥 (ba ji xiang ‘Eight Buddhist Emblems’), supported by flowering lotus scroll. These Eight Buddhist Emblems are the endless knot, lotus flower, canopy, conch shell, treasure vase, wheel of the law, twin fish and banner or standard of victory. There is a six-character Chenghua reign mark written in a double ring on the base.

A very rare blue and white 'Eight Buddhist Emblems' dish, Chenghua six-character mark within double circles and of the period

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A very rare blue and white 'Eight Buddhist Emblems' dish, Chenghua six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1465-1487)

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Lot 3112. A very rare blue and white 'Eight Buddhist Emblems' dish, Chenghua six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1465-1487), 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 2,600,000 - HKD 3,800,000Price realised HKD 3,400,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013

Delicately potted with shallow rounded sides rising to slightly flaring rims, the dish is painted on the interior with the Wheel of the Law supported on a lotus spray, enclosed within double-line borders, below a lotus scroll on the cavetto, with each bloom supporting one of the other seven Buddhist Emblems. The exterior is decorated with the Eight Buddhist Emblems, each positioned above a lotus plinth borne on a foliate scroll..

Provenance: Wu Lai-hsi (circa 1870-1950)
Sold at Sotheby's London, 26 May 1937, lot 26
Sydney L. Moss, London, 1938, purchased for 15 pounds
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 176

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LiteratureLondon Borough of Croydon, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, Croydon, 1987, p. 11, no. 91 

NoteThe motif of the Eight Buddhist Emblems with each symbol supported on a lotus bloom, first appeared on porcelain during the Yuan dynasty, and remained popular through the Ming dynasty. The popularity of this motif on porcelain reached an unprecedented height during the later period of the Chenghua reign, a phenomenon attributed by Liu Xinyuan to the emperor's heightened interest in Buddhism and Daoism in his later years, as reflected by the incessant religious activities revived at court, and the enormous amount of resources dedicated to the construction of temples and monasteries. See a discussion on this relationship, of the Chenghua emperor's religious penchant and porcelain production, in the introductory essay in Legacy of Chenghua, Hong Kong, 1993, pp. 29-30. 

The design on the current dish is unusual in that a single Buddhist Emblem, Wheel of Law, has been singled out and prominently placed at the centre and surrounded by the remaining seven Buddhist Emblems on the cavetto. An almost identical example is in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated by Lu Minghua in Mingdai guanyao ciqi, Shanghai, 2007, p. 224, fig. 4-20; another is from the Percival David Collection, now housed at the British Museum, published in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, no. 34; and a third in the collection of Lord Au Bak Ling. An example with the same decoration on the interior but with lotus sprays on the exterior is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-Hua Porcelain Ware, Taipei, 2003, p. 50, no. 24; and another of this type with the mark enclosed within double squares was excavated from Phase III of the Chenghua strata at Jingdezhen, see ibid, p. 228, no. C70. Compare also to another unpublished example from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum, accession no. 36.57, which is included in the museum's online archive, though showing only an image of the interior.

Dish with Buddhist emblems, Ming dynasty, Chenghua mark and period, AD1465–87

Dish with Buddhist emblems, Ming dynasty, Chenghua mark and period, AD1465–87, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Height: 40 mm, Diameter: 192 mm. Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF,B.627 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Dish, late 15th century

Dish, late 15th century. Jingdezhen ware, porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue, 1 9/16 in. (3.97 cm), height 7 1/2 in. (19 cm), diameter Diam. of bottom: 4 5/8 in., Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 51.85 ©2017 SEATTLE ART MUSEUM

Christie's. The R.F.A Riesco Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, 27 November 2013, Hong Kong

A fine and rare incised green-enamelled 'Dragon' dish, Hongzhi six-character mark within double circles and of the period

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A fine and rare incised green-enamelled 'Dragon' dish, Hongzhi six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1488-1505)

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Lot 3115. A fine and rare incised green-enamelled 'Dragon' dish, Hongzhi six-character mark within double circles and of the period (1488-1505), 8 7/8 in. (22.4 cm.) diam. Estimate HKD 2,600,000 - HKD 3,800,000Price realised HKD 3,400,000 © Christie's Images Ltd 2013 

Finely potted with shallow rounded sides supported on a slightly splayed foot, the dish is decorated on the interior with a five-clawed dragon striding amidst stylised clouds, its head, scaly body and limbs incised, reserved on the biscuit and covered in green enamel, with claws and streamers enamelled over the glaze, all encircled by a green border repeated at the rim. The exterior is similarly decorated with a pair of green dragons racing through a sea of incised waves.

ProvenanceGeorge Eumorfopoulos (1863-1939)
Sold at Sotheby's London, 28-31 May 1940, lot 304
Peter Boode Antiques, London, 1945, purchased for 75 pounds
Raymond F.A. Riesco Collection, no. 213

LiteratureE.E. Bluett, Ming and Ch'ing Porcelains, London, 1933, pl. 15, no. 46
R.L. Hobson, Eumorfopoulos Collection, vol. 4, London, 1927, pl. 13, D70
E.E. Bluett, The Riesco Collection of Old Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, circa 1951, p. 18, fig. 20
London Borough of Croydon, Riesco Collection of Chinese Ceramics Handlist, Croydon, 1987, p. 8, no. 62 

NoteIncised green-enamelled dragon on a white background, which became popular during the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns, originated in the Chenghua period. A fragment of a bowl decorated with this design was unearthed from the Chenghua stratum in Zhushan, Jingdezhen, illustrated in Ceramic Finds from Jingdezhen Kilns, Hong Kong, 1992, no. 246.

A Hongzhi-marked dish of similar size, on which the dragons on the exterior are divided by three cloud formations in green enamel, is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and illustrated in Porcelain of The National Palace Museum, Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book I, Hong Kong, 1966, p. 88, no. 5. Other similar examples are well published, compare to one illustrated by Adrian Joseph in Ming Porcelains: Their Origins and Development, London, 1971, p. 60, no. 63; another in the Baur Collection, illustrated by John Ayers in Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, no. 67; and one in the British Museum, illustrated by Jessica Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, pl. 7:17. All three examples are slightly smaller in size than the present dish, with diameter ranging between 18 -18.2 cm.

'Dragon' dish, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505) © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

 'Dragon' dish, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505),  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Height: 3.8 cm, Diameter: 18 cm. Bequeathed by Sir John M Addis, 1984,0202.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

The same design also appears on bowls of this period, compare to a bowl in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, ibid, no. 2; and another example illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 14, Tokyo, 1976, pls. 63 and 64.

Christie's. The R.F.A Riesco Collection of Important Chinese Ceramics, 27 November 2013, Hong Kong

'Dragon' dish, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505)

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'Dragon' dish, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505) © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

 'Dragon' dish, Ming dynasty, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505),  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Height: 3.8 cm, Diameter: 18 cm. Bequeathed by Sir John M Addis, 1984,0202.1 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum

Porcelain dish with incised and green enamel decoration on a white ground. This shallow saucer-shaped dish has rounded sides and a tapering foot. Inside a sinewy five-clawed dragon among clouds in a central medallion is incised into the leather-hard clay body. The dragon, clouds and ring outlines of the roundel and rim have been painted, reserved in-the-biscuit, with a forest-green coloured enamel. Outside only the two dragons and border lines are enamelled and the incised clouds, rocks and waves between them are composed of faint incised lines. On the base is a six-character underglaze blue Hongzhi reign mark. 

This combination of green enamel on a white ground was invented in the Chenghua era. A portion of a bowl with an incised dragon design and green glaze was unearthed from the Chenghua remains in Zhushan, Jingdezhen. Hongzhi dishes of this type are quite common in European collections. Another such dish is in the Baur Collection, Geneva. As well as saucer-shaped dishes, bowls were made with this decorative scheme in the Hongzhi reign, as shown by an example in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo. Harrison-Hall 2001 7:17

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