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1565
A VERY RARE WHITE-GLAZED INCISED
‘PHOENIX’ DISH
JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER INSCRIBED MARK
WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE
PERIOD (1522-1566)
The dish has shallow sides rising to an
everted rim, and the interior is incised with
two phoenixes amidst lotus, all under a
white glaze.
4Ω in. (11.4 cm.) diam.
$7,000-9,000
PROVENANCE
Estate of Patrick H. Booth, Jr. (1967-2004),
New York.
A very similar Jiajing-marked dish of the same
size, but with an incised design of two winged
horses amidst clouds is in the Percival David
Collection, in the British Museum, no. PDF.475.
明嘉靖 白釉刻雙鳳紋小折沿盤 雙圈六字刻款
1565 1565 (mark)
1566 (reverse)
1566 fgure, Shoulao holds a ruyi scepter, but the
decoration throughout difers from that of the
AN EXTREMELY RARE AND LARGE BLUE present fgure, and the robes are decorated with
AND WHITE FIGURE OF SHOULAO crane roundels. The author notes that similar
WANLI PERIOD (1573-1619) fgures have been found in Wanli period tombs.
Two fgures of this type, but of smaller size, are
The god of Longevity is shown holding illustrated by Lu Yaohua in “The Ming Dynasty
a ruyi scepter and seated on a recumbent Tomb of Zhu Yiyin (Marquis Yixuan) and his Wife
deer with spotted coat raised on a faceted in Jiangxi province”, Wenwu 1982:7, pp. 16-28,
rectangular base decorated with cranes in pl. 6 (1 and 2). Another, smaller (24.6 cm. high),
fight amidst clouds, and with lingzhi and blue and white fgure of Shoulao seated on a deer
fower sprigs. His outer robe has foliate raised on a plinth is illustrated in the S. Marchant
borders and is fastened in front by a fower & Son catalogue, Ming Blue and White: Jiajing-
head closure, while on the back is a square Chongzhen Including Dated Examples, November
rank badge of a crane against a background 2004, p. 49, no. 32. The front of this fgure’s robe
of clouds. His beard and the folds of his is decorated with a qilin rank badge, as is the
robes are detailed in blue line. front of the robe of another Shoulao of this type,
illustrated in the S. Marchant & Son catalogue,
18Ω in. (47 cm.) high, Japanese wood box Seventeenth Century Blue and White and Copper-
Red and Their Predecessors, June 1997, p. 27, no.
$100,000-150,000 14. Both of these fgures are also dated to the
Wanli period.
Large blue and white fgures of this type and
date, depicting Shoulao seated on a deer, appear Shoulao, the god of Longevity, is often shown
to be quite rare. One in the British Museum is with his deer, also a symbol of longevity, as are
illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall in Ming Ceramics cranes, and lingzhi, here represented by the ruyi
in the British Museum, London, 2002, pp. 324- scepter.
25, no. 11:131, where it is dated c. 1573-1620.
The fgure is raised on a separate plinth, and 明萬曆 青花壽老立像
the height overall is 43 cm. As with the present
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