Page 40 - Bonhams, Fine Chinese Art, London November 3, 2022

The present dish is extremely rare, with only three other published
dishes of this type bearing the mark of Xuande and of the period. One
dish is the pair to the present lot, which was sold at Sotheby’s New
York, 15 March 2017, lot 6, and was formerly acquired directly from
Baron Guy de Villelume on 16 September 1988. A second dish is in
the Palace Museum, Beijing, and is illustrated in Imperial Porcelains
from the Reign of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2015, pl.89.
The third dish, formerly in the Ataka collection, is in the Museum of
Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, illustrated in Art of the World, vol.14, Tokyo,
1976, pl.30.

This magnificent, large and rare dish exhibits the ambition and
technical dexterity achieved at the Imperial kilns of the Xuande
period (1426-1435), as well as changing shifts between the Yongle
(1403-1424) and Xuande periods. In the Yongle period, many of the
finest items made at Jingdezhen were sent abroad, whereas in the
Xuande period, with the generalised use of the Imperial reign mark,
production at the Imperial kilns appears to have been destined almost
exclusively for the Court. The present dish was thus made to satisfy
increasing demands from the Imperial Court. To catch up with the
unprecedented demand, the artisans at Jingdezhen had to develop
hundreds of new designs suitable for the Imperial House without
becoming repetitive and maintaining a certain level of originality. This
led to greater experimentation and innovation. The present dish thus
also encapsulates the innovative spirit of ceramic production in the
Xuande period.

Images after Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen,
Taipei, 1998, nos. 85-1 to 85-3
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