Page 340 - Sotheby's October 3 2017 Chinese Art

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A BLUE AND WHITE ‘LOTUS 清雍正 青花一把蓮盤
BOUQUET’ DISH 《大清雍正年製》款
MARK AND PERIOD OF
YONGZHENG 來源：
香港蘇富比1986年5月20日，編號42
well potted with shallow rounded sides rising
from a tapered foot, painted to the interior with a
central medallion enclosing a ribbon-tied bouquet
of lotus flowers and leaves, arrowhead and other
waterplants, encircled by a composite floral scroll
of camellia, hibiscus, pomegranate, tree peony,
rose, lotus and chrysanthemum in pairs, all below
a band of classic scroll bordering the rim, the
exterior similarly decorated with a composite
floral scroll, between a key-fret band bordering
the rim and classic scroll above the foot, the base
inscribed with a six-character reign mark within a
double circle
34.8 cm, 13¾ in.

PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 20th May 1986, lot 42.

HK$ 1,800,000-2,200,000
US$ 231,000-282,000

Inspired by the celebrated wares of the early
Ming dynasty, dishes painted with this lotus
bouquet motif were revived under the Yongzheng
Emperor, who was keen to see historical
masterpieces replicated as a reminder of the
nation’s glorious past. Antiques from the Palace
collection were sent to the Imperial kilns in
Jingdezhen, where craftsmen were instructed
to use them as standards for quality, models for
designs and as inspiration for innovation.

See a Yongzheng example in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., Gugong
bowuyuan cang Ming chu qinghua ci [Early
Ming blue and white porcelain in the Palace
Museum], Beijing, 2002, vol. 2, pl. 195. Five
Yongle prototypes of this lotus bouquet design,
in the Ardabil Shrine in Iran, are illustrated in
John Alexander Pope, Chinese Porcelains from
the Ardebil Shrine, Washington, D.C., 1956, pls
30 and 31.

By the Qianlong reign, the style of painting of
this motif was slightly altered, becoming more
formalised, and was applied on dishes of various
shapes and sizes. See a Qianlong mark and
period dish with this motif, in the Palace Museum,
Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang ed., op. cit.,
pl. 203.

Mark

338 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比