Page 36 - Kraak Porcelain, Jorge Welsh

9 Dish

Ming dynasty, Wanli period
( - ), ca.
Chinese porcelain decorated
in underglaze cobalt blue
Diameter: . cm

A thinly potted dish with shallow rounded sides, a wide fruits’ along with the peach and the finger-lemon, which
flat, up-turned foliated rim and low, v-shaped foot ring
that slants slightly inwards. It is painted in shades of represent abundance and plenty.
cobalt blue beneath a white glaze with a bluish tinge. The
central eight-pointed star-shaped medallion is decorated The pomegranate border design shown on this dish
with two deer standing among flowering plants under a
pine tree partly hidden by clouds beneath the moon, all presents some slight variations. For example three dishes
rather crudely painted with thin lines, dots and washes of
paint. The deer landscape is outlined by a thick blue band of about this size decorated with a similar pomegranate
that separates into eight radiating brackets with foliated
terminals that are surmounted by three precious jewels. border design but showing small ruyi-heads instead of
The rounded sides and the flat, up-turned foliated rim are
faintly moulded with eight large stylized pomegranates precious jewels surmounting the radiating brackets are
with leafy branches, which are painted over in cobalt blue
depicting the seeds and veins of the leaves. The underside in the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul (inv. nos.
is decorated with eight small bows with long ribbons
pending from the foliated rim alternating with groups of / - ). Another example is in the Santos Palace in
jewels surrounded by four dots, all framed by thin blue
lines below the rim and above the foot ring. The recessed Lisbon (inv. no. ).
base is marked by radiating ribbed lines and is covered
with a brilliant bluish-white glaze. Coarse sand from the The central medallion of these saucer dishes and
kiln adheres to minute areas of the foot ring.
dishes can be either star-shaped, as in this example, or
This dish belongs to a group of small kraak dishes and
saucer dishes with a distinctive decoration of moulded circular. The pomegranate border of the dishes with
pomegranates, usually eight, on the cavetto and rim. In
China the pomegranate (shi-liu) which is full of seeds circular medallions is slightly di erent as it shows the
(zi) symbolises fertility. It is one of the ‘three fortunate
pomegranates intertwined with leafy flowering

branches. Examples can be found in the Groninger

Museum in Groningen (inv. no. - ) and the

Princessehof Museum in Leeuwarden (inv. no. ).

Shards of dishes with this type of border were found

among the porcelain cargo of the Nossa Senhora dos

Mártires ( ) wreck.

The central scenes typically depict a landscape with

two deer standing under a pine tree, as seen here, a single

deer standing in front of a balustrade or two horses

standing under large ruyi-clouds. A central decoration

of auspicious symbols also occurs on dishes with star-

shaped medallions, as evidenced in another example

from the collection of the Princessehof Museum

(inv. no. ).