Page 52 - Bonhams Catalog Cohen and Cohen Jan 24, 2023 New York

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A RARE DOCUMENTARY BLUE AND WHITE ‘PHOENIX’ The translation of the inscription indicates that dish was made for a
SAUCER DISH lady of Shicheng. At least two places in eastern China could be this
Dated Wanli 22nd year, 1594 location, Shicheng County in Jiangxi Province and the City of Shicheng
The deep saucer dish painted to the interior in vibrant underglaze in Zhejiang Province, which is now under Qiandao Lake, created in
blue of a violet tone with two confronted phoenixes (fenghuang) in 1959 for the Xin’an River Dam project. Shicheng mentioned in the
flight, one ascending, the other descending, either side of a sun disc inscription on the underside of the dish more likely refers to the county
centered by the character ri (sun), amidst two large peony flowerheads in Jiangxi, due to its proximity to Jingdezhen.
on dense scrolling tendrils that spread around the well, the exterior
with three large Buddhistic lions divided by three ribboned balls, the There is a little precedent for a privately made, documentary dish like
base of the dish with an extremely rare seven-line sixty-six character this. It is a remarkable survival. The inscription reads, “For Mrs. Chen,
documentary inscription. of Xiong Gate in the city area, Shicheng county, the daughter of Mr.
11 3/4in (30cm) diam Chen Yujue of Baimao Pool, Shizhong district, who married Mr. Ruxing,
and who has three sons, the eldest of whom, named Chi, married
$30,000 - 40,000 into the Imperial Household, the second of whom, named Zhaozhen,
became a Daoist monk and the third of whom, named Zhaotai became
萬曆二十二年 珍稀紀年青花鳳凰牡丹紋盤 an official, the manufactory of objects for the Imperial Court has made,
on an auspicious day of the fourth month of the twenty-second year
款識： of the Wanli reign of the Great Ming, this longevity dish, to last for ten
石城縣坊郭里熊門陳氏，石中里白茅塘陳玉爵公之女也，配汝行公， thousand years without decline.”
生子三。長曰墀，儀賓；次曰兆禎， 生；幼曰兆泰，令史。壽盤萬年
不替耳。大明萬曆二十二年四月吉日，御器廠造。 The fenghuang is a Chinese mythological bird referred to in the West
as a phoenix. It was the Empress of birds and in Chinese mythology
Published: they were honored by other birds. It signifies beauty, grace, virtue, and
Cohen & Cohen, The Elephant in the Room, Antwerp, 2019, pp. 6-9, the unity of yin and yang and is an emblem of longevity.
no. 2, with images of a building close to one of the gates in Shicheng
City, now submerged under Lake Qiandao. The lion playing with a brocade ball means “May you and your
descendant achieve high rank.” The ribbons were also signs of
出版： longevity. (Bartholomew 2006, 117, no. 5.17.2).
倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《The Elephant in the Room》，安特衛
普，2019年，頁6-9，圖錄編號2，附圖石城門邊一建築，現今已沒於
千島湖。

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