A YELLOW-GROUND GREEN-ENAMELLED ‘LONGEVITY’ DISH JIAJING MARK AND PERIOD

the shallow rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a flared rim, incised and decorated with green enamels against an egg-yolk yellow ground, the interior with a central medallion enclosing a stylised shou character formed from entwined branches bearing eight fruiting peaches in a garden with lingzhi, the exterior similarly decorated with shou characters amongst meandering branches of fruiting peaches, the white base inscribed with a six-character reign mark, Japanese wood box

Mayuyama & Co. Ltd., Tokyo.

There is a 1.5cm crack to the rim at 8 O'clock. There are various areas on the rim where the glaze has thinned/pulled to leave the white exposed area. There is an area 2.3cm by 8mm of enamel re-touching to the foot at 10'Oclock (looking at the exterior). There is some scratches to the glaze to the interior.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This dish depicts a fruiting peach tree, an auspicious symbol in China, with the bark contorted to form a shou (longevity) character and bearing eight peaches, to represent the Eight Immortals. The Jiajing Emperor was a devout Daoist and as a result, decoration influenced by Daoist iconography was favoured during his reign.

A closely related dish in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Museum’s exhibition Good Fortune, Long Life, Health and Peace. A Special Exhibition of Porcelains with Auspicious Designs, Taipei, 1995, cat. no. 2; and another from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in R.L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, London, 1923, pl. 39, fig. 2. See also a dish similarly incised with a pine tree in the form of a shou character, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Lu Minghua, Mindai guanyao ciqi, Shanghai, 2007, pl. 1-64.

This motif is also known from yellow-and-green enamelled bowls of Jiajing mark and period, such as one illustrated in L. Reidemeister, Ming. Porzellane in Schwedischen Sammlungen, Berlin, 1935, pl. 32a; and from dishes painted in the wucai palette; see one in the Norton collection, sold twice in these rooms, 5^th November 1963, lot 182, and 1^st/2^nd April 1974, lot 231; and a pair from the H.M. Knight collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 20^th May 1980, lot 72, and again in these rooms, 13^th July 2005, lot 186.