Page 110 - Chinese Works of Art Chritie's Mar. 22-23 2018

THE PROPERTY OF MARCHANT, EST. 1925
782
A FINE INCISED CELADON-GLAZED ‘LINGZHI’ SAUCER DISH
YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE
WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)
The gently rounded sides are lightly incised on the exterior with lingzhi scroll under a pale sea-green glaze.
The interior is white.
4Ω in. (11.8 cm.) diam.
$30,000-40,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Rome, Italy, acquired in 1980.
Inspired Connoisseurship: Property from a European Collection; Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2011,
lot 3518 (part).
The lingzhi fungus is a popular motif in Chinese art, signifying longevity. Considered the food of the
immortals, it is also a wish-granting symbol whose form is related to the ruyi scepter. The combination
of lingzhi and bamboo, as on the present dish, most likely represents a birthday greeting, since bamboo
(zhu) is a pun for “congratulations” (zhu), and the lingzhi implies long life.
A similar dish is illustrated by Peter Y. K. Lam in Shimmering Colours - Monochromes of the Yuan to Qing
Periods: The Zhuyuetang Collection, Hong Kong, 2005, p. 157, no. 86; and another, from the collection
of Mr. Peter W. Hyui, is illustrated by Laurence C. S. Tam in Monochrome Ceramics of Ming and Ch’ing
Dynasties, Min Chiu Society and The Urban Council, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1977, p. 70, no. 74. See,
also, a similar dish which was sold at Christie’s New York, 18-19 September 2014, lot 798, and another
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1 June 2011, lot 3518.
清雍正 粉青釉刻靈芝紋盤 雙圈六字楷書款

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