An exceptionally large famille-verte 'Lintong dou bao' charger Qing dynasty, Kangxi period | 清康熙 五彩臨潼斗寶圖大盤

Sotheby's London, 12th June 2003, lot 222.

Christie’s, London, 7th November 2006, lot 189. 

Galerie 41, Monaco, 31st March 2007.

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倫敦蘇富比， 2003年6月12日， 編號222

倫敦佳士得，2006年11月7日 ，編號189

Galerie 41，摩納哥，2007年3月31日 

This awe-inspiring charger, superbly painted with vivid enamels of the famille verte palette with a lively and dense scene of a lavish court banquet, is a particularly fine example of a distinguished group of large dishes created during the Kangxi period (1662-1722). With the composition extended to the edge of the plate, they represent veritable paintings on porcelains. When compared to its counterparts, the enamelling of the present piece is exceptionally impressive for its wealth of colour and meticulous detail. Another noteworthy feature of the present piece is the extensive application of blue enamel across the dish. Since blue enamel had only been developed during the Kangxi reign, the colour scheme of this charger might have been devised specifically to exhibit the new colour that recently became available.

The scene on this large charger depicts the story of 'The Contest of Treasures of Lintong' dating from the Spring and Autumn era (772 - 481 BC) and popularized by the Yuan dynasty play Lintong Dou Bao.

The story tells the tale of a competition organized by Prince Qin Mu of Qin country to conquer and intimidate his neighbours, whereby each feudal prince was to display the weath of his country. At this competition Wu Zi Xu, Prince of Chu country, displayed intelligence and strength, and earned the respect of all the other feudal princes by holding up for display 'a thousand jin heavy ding'. Thus, Wu Zi Xu was able to save his country from the threat of Prince Qin Mu.

A similar large charger depicting the same scene is preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. xin-99638), illustrated in Ye Pei-Lan, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong: Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 68, pl. 51.

Similar depictions of court scene can also be found on related chargers: a large dish showing a banquet scene from the novel Romance of Sui and Tang, one in the Jie Rui Tang Collection, illustrated in Jeffrey P. Stamen, Cynthia Volk and Yibin Ni, A Culture Revealed. Kangxi-Era Chinese Porcelain from the Jie Rui Tang Collection, Bruges, 2017, pl. 10, recently sold in our New York rooms, 19th March 2019, lot 349; see also two other chargers, one sold in our New York rooms, 11th April 1987, lot 199, depicting a similar banquet scene, the other from The Hon. Mrs Nellie Ionides (1883-1962) at Buxted Park collection, sold twice in our London rooms, 18th February 1964, lot 230, and more recently 11th May 2022, lot 80, depicting the Emperor entertained by court dancers.