Page 68 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

上林菀. Persimmons, being reddish orange in colour are regarded as symbols
of joy. Their auspicious colour means that they are amongst the fruit eaten
either fresh or dried during the Moon Festival. Their round shape is also
auspicious as it symbolises completeness and reunion (tuanyuan 團圓). It has
been noted that the distinctive four-leafed calyx of the persimmon was often
used as a design on the backs of mirrors and other items in the late Bronze
Age (T. T. Bartholomew, Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, San Francisco, 2006,
p. 260). Not only is its fruit highly regarded, but also its wood is prized as a
hardwood, and if persimmon is used as a motif in architecture, it suggests
frm foundations (dipan jiangu 地盤堅固, see ibid.). The current bowl has three
persimmons on the branch, and three of these fruit provide the wish: ‘May your
business enjoy threefold prosperity’ lishi sanbei 利市三倍.
As mentioned above, grapes (vitis vinifera, Chinese 葡萄 putao) appeared as a
minor part of the decoration amongst the other plants on Yuan dynasty blue
and white vessels, but in the early 15th century they became popular as a
major decorative motif on porcelains, especially in the centre of large dishes.
In fact, early 15th century dishes with this blue and white grape design provide
a nice illustration of the way infuences travelled back and forth across Asia.
Both the grape plant and its use as a decorative motif entered China from the
West during the Han dynasty, but in the 15th century Chinese dishes with this
design travelled westward entering collections like those still preserved in
Iran and Turkey. Subsequently in the early 16th century a copy of the Chinese
design appeared among the lower-fred blue and white ceramics made at Iznik
in Turkey. In China grapes were an enduringly popular motif in the early 15th
century, that was employed in both the Yongle and Xuande reigns. The grape
is one of the plants that is recorded as having been brought to China from
Central Asia in 128 BC by Zhang Qian (張騫 d. 113 BC), a returning envoy of
Emperor Wudi (武帝 r. 141-87 BC). Both green and black grapes are recorded
by the beginning of the 6th century AD, a seedless variety is mentioned in
Song dynasty texts, and many diferent varieties of grape were grown in
China by the early 15th century. The grapes were eaten fresh, as well as dried
in the form of raisins, but do not seem to have been used to make wine until
the Tang dynasty. There is a fulsome entry for grapes with illustration in juan
23 of the Chongxiu Zhenghe Jingshi Zhenglei Beiying Bencao (Classifed and

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