Page 98 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Fine Chinese Art
P. 98
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A PAIR OF FAMILLE VERTE SAUCER DISHES
17th century
Enamelled to the interior respectively with a scene of a dignitary
standing on a terraced garden anticipating the arrival of the Jade
Emperor accompanied by an attendant, and a cowherd playing the
flute travelling across a rocky landscape, each accompanied with a
poem describing the scene.
13cm (5 1/8in) diam. (2).
£8,000 - 12,000
CNY69,000 - 100,000
十七世紀 五彩道仙故事圖題字小盤 一對
On the dish with the official standing on a terrace, there is a line from
the poem ‘Royal Banquet on the Fifteenth Day of the First Month’ by
Su Dongpo (1037-1101):
侍臣鵠立通明殿，一朵紅雲捧玉皇
This may be translated as:
‘In the Tongming Hall attendants and ministers stand erect with eager
attention, on a rosy red cloud is the exalted Jade Emperor’
On the other dish depicting a shepherd boy is inscribed a line from the
poem ‘Village at Dusk’ by Lei Zhen (dates unknown) of the Northern
Song dynasty:
牧童歸去横 牛背，短笛無腔信口吹
This may be translated as:
‘The shepherd boy returns leaning sideways on his buffalo’s back, with
his small flute he plays a random melody, blowing as he pleases’
After the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 and the ensuing Manchu
invasion, themes regarding loyalty to the emperor, and thus tacitly to
the old regime, were popular. Motifs of shepherd boys on buffaloes
were also popular as a symbol of rustic eremitism. For related
motifs of boys on buffaloes, but on jars, see Sir M.Butler, M.Medley,
S.Little, Seventeenth-Century Chinese Porcelain from the Butler
Family Collection, Alexandria, 1990, p.80, pl.39; p.86, pl.43; and an
enamelled beaker vase decorated in a similar palette and inscription
p.90, pl.47.
96 | BONHAMS For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.
