A PAIR OF INCISED AND ENAMELLED BISCUIT 'PEACH AND POMEGRANATE' DISHES KANGXI MARKS AND PERIOD

each with rounded sides rising from a short tapering foot to an everted rim, finely incised to the interior with a scaly dragon amidst fire and cloud scrolls and brightly enamelled in cream, yellow, green and aubergine with large peach and pomegranate sprays, all reserved on a cream ground, the exterior similarly decorated, the six-character mark in underglaze-blue within a double circle to the base

John Sparks, London.
Acquired in London in the 1960s.

Both dishes have glaze firing imperfections and surface wear. There are misfired buff-coloured patches to the bases of both, predominantly around the mark. One dish is more thickly potted than the other. It has two rim cracks, one measuring approx. 3.5cm and the other 1.5cm.
"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 highly unusual style of this dish, painted with fruit motif overlaying an unrelated engraved dragon design, and the combination of a high-fired glaze (on the base) with a low-fired white glaze is known only from Kangxi dishes and bowls decorated in this colour scheme. Related examples show much variation in the details of the design: the fruits vary in number, they are painted in different stages of ripeness with more or less seeds showing, and are arranged in different clusters on the branches, which ensure that the design retains a lively, naturalistic flair.

 

Dishes of this type are held in important private and museum collections worldwide; one in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, is illustrated in Wang Qingzheng, Kangxi Porcelain Wares from the Shanghai Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 144; one in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, is published in Ye Peilan, Beauty of Ceramics. Gems of the Wucai Porcelain, vol. 7, Taipei, 1996, pl. 283; another in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, is published in Li He, Chinese Ceramics. The New Standard Guide, London, 1996, pl. 613; and a fourth example from the British Rail Pension Fund, was sold in these rooms 6^th April 1976, and twice in our Hong Kong rooms, 16^th May 1989, lot 70, and 9^th October 2012, lot 29, from the Meiyintang collection.