A LARGE BLUE AND WHITE ‘MANDARIN DUCKS’ CHARGER YUAN DYNASTY

the rounded sides rising from a tapered foot to a wide everted rim, painted in rich tones of cobalt-blue, the interior with a slightly recessed medallion enclosing a pair of mandarin ducks swimming in a lotus pond, encircled at the cavetto by an undulating lotus scroll, the rim with a trellis border, similarly decorated to the exterior with a leafy lotus scroll

A Japanese Private Collection.

The dish has been broken in half and restored with overpainting to the rim, three drilled 'collectors' characters to the underside and glaze scratching to the interior and exterior.
"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."

A number of impressive large chargers of this type are preserved, but they all vary considerably in their execution and decoration. The present piece is a particularly fine example amongst wares belonging to this group, with the cobalt of vivid deep blue tone and the painting of the swimming ducks amongst water plants expertly executed. While no two Yuan chargers of this type are exactly the same, this example is closely related to one in the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, Cat. II, London, 1986, pl. 569, where on p. 495 another similar charger discovered at the site of a Tughlaq Palace in Delhi is mentioned. See another impressive charger of this type, from the Ardebil Shrine and now in the Iran Bastan Museum, Teheran, included in John Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, London, 1956, pl. 7, with a different  design band around the rim and the back painted with lotus panels instead of a continuous lotus scroll motif as seen on this piece; and another with a bracket lobed rim, in the Palace Museum, Beijing,  published in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 161.

A charger of this form and design with an everted rim was sold in these rooms, 6^th April 1976, lot 107; and one, painted with a lotus pond scene with stems of flowers, foliage and pods rising from the water, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 2^nd may 2005, lot 638.