Page 139 - Sotheby's Sir Quo Wei Lei Collection Oct. 3, 2018

Superbly painted with a dainty floral sprig in the centre, this included in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection,
elegant dish epitomises the exquisite ceramic production Tokyo, 1987, pl. 638, and again in Ceramics that Fascinated
at Jingdezhen in the Xuande period. It belongs to a group of Emperors – Treasures of the Chinese Jingdezhen Kiln, Tokyo,
dishes painted with different flowering and fruiting branches, 2003, cat. no. 24. The only other example still preserved in
which were developed by the Xuande imperial kilns and private hands was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27th April
remained popular almost throughout the Ming dynasty. The 1997, lot 72.
present variation is particularly successful in apprehending This Xuande blue and white design with a pomegranate
the beauty of nature. The pattern of pomegranate flowers in branch in the centre, as well as related ones with gardenia,
various stages of growth – from delicate buds to exuberant lotus or day lilies, became blueprints for dishes in various
bloom with lush petals – and with naturalistic leaves slightly colour combinations, which became particularly popular in
curled at the tips, appears to have enjoyed an immediate the 16th century. Compare the pomegranate pattern on a
success and continued to be painted on imperial dishes up blue-ground reverse-decorated dish and on a brown-glazed
until the Jiajing period, covering a span of over a century. The counterpart, both with horizontal Xuande marks below the
Xuande version is of course extremely rare, with only five rim, illustrated in Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of
other examples recorded.
Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty,
In the early Ming dynasty, the court supervised the production op. cit., cat. nos 198 and 199, as well as four ‘gardenia’ dishes
of the Jingdezhen kilns and commissioned imperial wares with in different colour combinations and with the reign mark on
decorations which were based on guanyang (official design) the base, cat. nos 193-196. See also a yellow-ground example
or huaben (model drawing) submitted by court artists. The of this pomegranate design from the Sir Percival David
Xuande Emperor, a devoted patron of the arts and himself a collection in the British Museum, London, illustrated in Regina
talented painter, even raised the total number of official kilns Krahl and Jessica Harrison-Hall, Chinese Ceramics. Highlights
from 32 to 58 in order to fortify such production. Despite its from the Sir Percival David Collection, London, 2009, pl. 35;
vividness, the instability and fuzziness of the imported cobalt and another in the Idemitsu collection and included in the
prevalent on the earlier Yongle wares demanded a revised exhibition Ceramics that Fascinated Emperors, op. cit., cat.
formula of the pigment. With the inclusion of manganese no. 25.
native to China, the cobalt pigment used in the Xuande Revered not only by the Xuande Emperor’s court, these floral
period enabled greater precision of the brushwork, and in designs continued to define the standard of floral dishes in the
turn conveys a stronger sense of confidence on the part of following reigns with only slight modifications in composition
the painter. The present dish, with bold outlines and painterly and the placement of the reign mark. For Chenghua blue and
washes, successfully captures the grace of the garden plants white dishes of this pomegranate design, see one preserved
at their zenith, in a way not dissimilar to Chinese literati in the Shanghai Museum illustrated in Wang Qingzheng,
paintings. The detached peach, lychee, crab apple and Underglaze Blue & Red, Shanghai Museum, 1987, col. pl.
persimmon branches on the cavetto and the lotus sprays 80; and another in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, exhibited
on the exterior are sparsely arranged to evoke an overall in Matsuoka Bijutsukan shozo Chugoku toji meihin ten
compositional openness.
[Exhibition of Chinese ceramics in the Matsuoka Museum of
Blue and white dishes of this design of Xuande mark and Art], Tokyo, 1983, cat. no. 58. Three yellow-ground dishes of
period are extremely rare and there are only four known this pomegranate design from later reigns are in the Idemitsu
examples preserved in museums worldwide: One in the collection: a Chenghua example with a horizontal mark below
National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in Catalogue of the the rim, Ceramics that Fascinated Emperors, op. cit., cat. no.
Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains 30; a Zhengde version with the reign mark in a double circle on
of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 197; one from the the base, cat. no. 41; and a Jiajing dish with a horizontal mark
Roy Leventritt (1897-1898) collection and now in the Asian below the rim, cat. no. 51. See also a Zhengde yellow-ground
Art Museum of San Francisco, exhibited in Ming Blue-and- dish in this sale, lot 127.
white: An Exhibition of Blue-decorated Porcelain of the Ming Representations of pomegranates are most easily identified
dynasty, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1949-1950, by their fruits, usually depicted with an abundance of seeds
cat. no. 54, and published in Clarence F. Shangraw, ‘Fifteenth signifying fertility. See a fruiting branch of pomegranate on an
Century Blue-and-White Porcelain in the Asian Art Museum early 15th century blue and white bowl, illustrated in Regina
of San Francisco’, Chinese Ceramics. Selected Articles from Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum,
Orientations 1982-1998, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 107 bottom; one Istanbul, ed. John Ayers, London, 1986, vol. 2, no. 15/1421,
in the Suzhou Museum, published in Zhongguo meishu quanji. cat. no. 608. The present design, however, omits the fruits
Gongyi meishu bian: Taoci [Complete series on Chinese art. and focuses instead on the heavy blooms of dense curling
Arts and crafts section: Ceramics], Shanghai, 1988-1991, petals, which are also clearly identified by their distinctive
vol. 3, pl. 77; and the fourth in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts,
calyx.