A BLUE AND WHITE ‘PEONY’ DISH MING DYNASTY, YONGLE PERIOD

heavily potted, with rounded sides rising from a tapering foot to a wide everted rim with a rolled lip, the interior boldly painted with a leafy spray bearing two large peony blooms, encircled by an undulating peony scroll, the rim bordered by a foliate scroll, similarly decorated to the exterior with a lotus scroll, the base unglazed revealing the buff-coloured body, Japanese wood box

Collection of Christer Löftgren, Sweden.

About a quarter of the rim has been broken and restuck with associated restoration. There is a circa 2cm yellowed crack at 9 o'clock position, visible to both the interior and exterior. There are shallow glaze flakes and light fritting along the interior and exterior rims. Other general minor glaze firing imperfections.
"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."

Skilfully painted with gently curling peony flowers in a free-flowing manner with brilliant and deep tones of cobalt, this dish displays the characteristic ‘heaping and piling’ effect, a much copied trademark of imperial blue and white porcelain from the early Ming dynasty. Large underglaze blue-decorated wares were an innovation of the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), and their production appears to have continued until the early part of the Yongle reign, since sherds of such large blue and white vessels have been discovered, for example, in stratum three of the Zhongghua Road excavation, immediately above the Hongwu (1368-98) stratum.

 

A closely related dish from the Ardabil Shrine and now in the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, is illustrated in John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, Washington D.C., 1956, pl. 32, no. 29.68; one from the Gustaf VI Adolf collection and now in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 214; another, included in the Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Ceramics from the Collection of the Kau Chi Society of Chinese Art, Art Gallery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, cat. no. 64, was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 28^th November 1978, lot 63, and again, 30^th October 2000, lot 105; and a further dish was sold in our London rooms, 13^th December 1960, lot 67.

 

Large dishes painted on the interior with two peonies were equally popular in China as abroad; dishes of this design but painted on the everted rim with various floral motifs are preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglaze Red (I), Hong Kong, 2008, pl. 55.