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

well potted with a everted barbed rim, the rounded sides of conforming shape, supported on a short tapered foot, finely painted to the center in deep shaded tones of cobalt blue enhanced by slight ' heaping and piling' with a single meandering stem issuing various blooms including lotus, chrysanthemum, mallow, pink, and magnolia, enclosed within a single-line border, encircled on the cavetto by twelve detached flower heads including further lotus, chrysanthemum, camellia, peony, each encircled by a leafy scroll, all below the everted rim painted with a border of a continuous lotus flower scroll and a double-line border, the underside similarly decorated with detached floral sprays, the base unglazed and fired bright orange

Collection of L.A. Basmadjieff.
Sotheby's London, 14th March 1972, lot 132.
Sotheby's London, 27th November 1973, lot 216.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 29th November 1976, lot 463.
Reach Family Collection.

Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, Eskenazi, London, 1989, cat. no. 35.

The underside of the rim has a polished down 5mm rim frit and a 5mm shallow glaze chip. The edge of the rim on the interior also as a minor 4mm glaze frit. The overall is very good.
"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."

The present dish is an excellent example of the technical developments achieved by the early Ming dynasty. Yongle porcelains are characterised 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 colours 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 most striking decorative innovations of early fifteenth-century wares was the use of separate floral sprays or bunches of flowers in the cavettos instead of the continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on 14th century dishes gave way to a series of delicate and more varied 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 closely related 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. 602; one formerly in the Ardebil Shrine and now in the Iran Bastan Museum, Teheran, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 4, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 189; a dish in the Gotoh Art Museum, Japan, is published in Mayuyama. Seventy Years, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 758; and a fourth dish in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, was included in the exhibition The Arts of the Ming Dynasty, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, 1952, cat. no. 99. See also two similar dishes sold in these rooms, 30th April 1996, lot 325, and the other, 17th May 1988, lot 25; and a third sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 7th July 2003, lot 649.