Page 34 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 Hong Kong

The Property of an Important Asian Collector
221
A very rare blue and white ‘Daoist Immortals’ auspicious
rectangular plaque
Zhengde
The heavily-potted plaque featuring a devotional scene of Shoulao
lecturing on a flat rock pedestal before a glowing mandorla issuing
a wisp of energy forming the character shou, the God of Immortality
seated on a deerskin rug and beside a plate of peaches and an incense
burner, his elderly facial features including hairy eyebrows and beard
framed by his pronounced large cranium, wearing loose garments with
his right hand holding a scroll, surrounded by an entourage of devotees heshou which literally translates as ‘wishing you ample years of long life’.
listening to his teachings and paying respect, beside a pair of deer,
tortoise, and crane, within a mountainous grotto by a river with lush
growth of bamboo, pine trees, lingzhi and shrubs. 40.7cm wide.
HK$800,000 - 1,200,000
US$100,000 - 150,000
明正德 青花群仙祝壽圖瓷板
Provenance 來源：
Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2006, lot 1391
An important Asian private collection
32 | Bonhams
Shoulao, also know as Shouxing, is the Daoist God of Longevity and
giver of luck, which also represents the stellar deity for Immortality.
He is commonly depicted with an enlarged cranium, walking with his
gnarled staff and drinking his elixir of life from his double gourd as well
as holding peaches.
The current lot hides many other significant hidden auspicious
connotations. The God of Longevity is also accompanied by two deer
and a tortoise as well as a crane. Together, Shoulao and deer form
the saying lushou, which literally translates as ‘to rise in approach of
Immortality’. The tortoise which lives to a great age is also a symbol of
long life or shou; paired together with crane or he, they form the pun
The decorative styles and the use of even-toned cobalt blue represented
by the current lot can be attributed to the Zhengde period. See also
another mid sixteenth century comparable plaques, also with well-
graduated blue tones, sold in our London rooms, 12 May 2011, lot 301.
正德時期瓷器繪畫，猶有宣德、成化遺風，並受道教影響出現八仙、真
武大帝，壽星等極富宗教色彩的裝飾。見倫敦邦瀚斯2011年售一件明
十六世紀青花瓷板，編號301，可資比較。