Page 53 - Christie's July 9th 2020 Hong Kong Important Chinese Works of Art

central medallion. One version was decorated with a peony
spray with one large multi-petalled main bloom. An example
of this type was excavated from the Xuande stratum at the site
of the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen (illustrated by the Chang
Foundation in Xuande Imperial Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen,
fig. 2 A yellow-ground blue and white ‘gardenia’ dish. Xuande mark and
Taipei, 1998, p. 86, no. 85-2)(fig. 1). Another, represented period. Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
圖二 明宣德 黃地青花梔子花紋盤 國立故宮博物院藏品
by the current dish, was decorated with a pomegranate spray
with two fully-opened blossoms shown in profile, while the
third bore a gardenia spray with two, widely-spaced, flowers
depicted from above. A Xuande dish with blue gardenia
flowers depicted against a yellow enamelled ground is in
the collection of the National Palace Museum (illustrated in
Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial
Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 446-7, no. 196)
(fig. 2). It may be argued that the designs on these flowers
and fruit dishes are amongst the most visually pleasing of
the decorative schemes seen on Xuande dishes, allowing the
ceramic artist to make full use of the rich blue pigment, while
still producing a well-balanced design. Interestingly, the
pomegranate and peony versions of the design have unglazed
bases and the underglaze blue six-character Xuande reign
marks were written in a horizontal line beneath the exterior
mouth rim, while the gardenia version has a glazed base and
fig. 3 A blue and white reserve-decorated ‘pomegranate’ dish. Xuande
the six-character reign mark written in two vertical lines in mark and period. Collection of the Jingdezhen Archaeological Institute
圖三 明宣德 藍地白花石榴紋盤 景德鎮陶瓷研究所藏品
underglaze blue, inside a double circle on the base.
It is clear that these three flowers and fruit designs, with
愛。事實亦證，宣德年間確有五十八處窯場在滿足皇親
their relatively large central flower sprays, were a particular 貴族寄願之求，去完成宮中下旨燒製的瓷器。如此帶有
favourite of the Xuande Emperor, who was an especially keen 探索試驗性質的前提下，亦彰顯出是類盤樣大膽前衛的
patron of porcelain. Indeed, some 58 kilns were eventually
設計。故此，在白地青花的基礎上，又發展出藍地白
needed in order to fulfil imperial commissions. The boldness
and openness of the designs on these dishes facilitated the 花、黃地青花、白地醬釉及白地黃釉的折枝花果紋盤。
type of experimentation, which was required to satisfy the 現存例中，景德鎮珠山御窯廠宣德地層出土過一件藍地
imperial desire for novelty. Thus, in addition to the versions 白花折枝石榴花果紋盤（參閱鴻禧美術館，《景德鎮出
on which the design appears in underglaze cobalt blue against 土明初官窯瓷器》，台北，1998 年，頁 85，圖版 84 號）

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