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

very finely potted with shallow rounded sides divided into twelve bracket foliations, rising from a short tapered foot to a barbed everted rim, beautifully and richly painted in shades of cobalt accented with the 'heaped and piled' effect, the interior with a central lotus bloom shown en face surrounded by blooms of camellia, lotus, chrysanthemum, mallow and pink, all wreathed by interlocked meandering stems within a barbed line border, further encircled around the sides by detached sprays of peony, chrysanthemum, pomegranate, hibiscus, morning glory and lotus, each repeated twice and paired across the dish, below a border of cresting waves emitting white foams within double-lines at the rim, the exterior painted with similar detached floral sprays within double-line borders, the base and footring left unglazed

Gulbenkian Museum of Oriental Art and Archaeology, Durham, no. L87 (on loan).
Christie's London, 9th November 2004, lot 131.

The dish is in exceptionally fine condition and is an outstanding example of its type.
"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 period of Yongle (1403-24) was a golden age for the history of China’s blue and white porcelain. Dishes painted with flower scrolls like the present piece rank among the most prestigious ceramic wares from this period. They were made both for the Ming court and for export, were sent to the Middle East mainly via the official trade system, where they were later copied in earthenware. Similar examples are very rare, although they are represented in world-famous museums and private collections.

One of the decorative innovations of early fifteenth century was the use of separate floral sprays or bunches of flowers in the cavetto instead of a continuous scroll. The heavy wreath of lotus or peony found on fourteenth-century dishes gave way to more varied series of formalised motifs. Yongle blue and white is also characterised by its particularly fine cobalt imported from the Middle East, which fired to a dark, deep blue in some parts and a delicate, pale blue in others. The intensity of the blue tones was highlighted by the white body of the porcelain clay, and the silvery-black and crystal-like appearance of the pigment, which often occurred in the firing, known as the 'heaped and piled' effect, is a much-copied trademark of imperial blue and white from the early Ming dynasty.

A similar dish in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, pl. 601; another in the Percival David Foundation, now on loan to the British Museum, London, is published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 76; one in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in the Special Exhibition of Early Ming Porcelains, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1982, cat. no. 38; other dishes of this design include two in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, one illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Chinese Ceramics from the Axel and Nora Lundgren Bequest, Stockholm, 1978, pl. 27, no. 25, the other, formerly in the Swedish Royal Collection of Gustaf VI Adolf, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, op.cit., vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 216. An example from the Mottahedeh Collection, illustrated in David Howard and John Ayers, China for the West. Chinese Porcelain and Other Decorative Arts for Export, New York, 1978, vol. 1, p. 12, was sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 1976, lot 113, and again, 20th September 2000, lot 105. Another comparable example, from the Collection of Mr. F. Gordon and Mrs. Elizabeth Hunter Morrill, was sold in these rooms, 8th April 2013, lot 3018.

Compare also a Yongle dish of similar pattern, but with delicate lotus scrolls instead of waves around the barbed rim, sold in our London rooms, 14th March 1972, lot 132, in these rooms, 29th November 1976, lot 463, and again 8th April 2009, lot 1670, and exhibited in Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, Eskenazi, London, 1989, cat. no. 35.

The close interaction between China and the Middle East as reflected in blue and white porcelain of the early Ming dynasty is discussed in the exhibition catalogue Ming: 50 Years that Changed China, the British Museum, London, 2014, pp. 86-95.