Lot 234
  • 234

A BLUE AND WHITE BARBED RIM 'FLORAL SCROLL' DISH MING DYNASTY, YONGLE PERIOD

Estimate
300,000 - 400,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • porcelain
the interior freely painted with composite floral scroll in the medallion with aster, pink, mallow, chrysanthemum and lotus blooms around a central camellia, the lobed well with twelve single flower heads each encircled by its leafy stem, the flaring foliate rim with a band of breaking waves, the exterior sides painted with twelve further floral sprays, the base unglazed

Provenance

Old Japanese Collection, by repute.

Condition

The dish is in good condition overall. There is a glaze gap to the interior of the dish, as well as some scattered burst bubbles and iron spots overall. There is also some expected general wear, particularly to the outer sides of the dish.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

The present dish is an example of the technical developments achieved by the early Ming dynasty. Yongle porcelains are characterized by their particularly deep blue cobalt, which fired to a dark deep-blue in some parts and pale blue in others. This silvery-black and crystal-like separation of colors is known as the 'heaped and piled' effect, and the intensity of tones was highlighted by the finely potted white body of the porcelain clay.

One of the decorative innovations of early fifteenth-century wares was the use of separate floral sprays or bunches of flowers in the cavetto instead of the continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on 14th century dishes gave way to more varied series of formalized motifs. Twelve flower sprays consisting of two sets were commonly repeated in order so that each flower was diametrically opposite its pair. With each flower spray encircled by a circular stem with leaves, the present dish is characteristic of the delicate variety that occurred within Yongle design schemes.

A similar dish in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, vol. II, London, 1986, pl. 601; another in the Percival David Foundation is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, 1982, vol. 6, no. 76; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Special Exhibition of Early Ming Porcelains, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 38, a fourth is published in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 753; other dishes of this design include two in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Chinese Ceramics from the Axel and Nora Lundgren Bequest, Stockholm, 1978, pl. 27, no. 25, and one in the Swedish Royal Collection, published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 216. An example from the Mottahedeh collection, illustrated in Michael Howard and John Ayers, China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and Other Decorative Arts for Export, vol. 1, New York, 1978, p. 12, was sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 1976, lot 113, and again, 20th September 2000, lot 105. Another comparable example was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 3018.