Page 29 - Zhangzhou Or Swatow The Collection of Zhangzhou Ware at the Princessehof Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands
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Penglai, the Islands of the Immortals
GRV 1929-36
The shape of this splendid, large-sized dish is rare: a large dish, supported by a low flared stand.
The design in cobalt blue is an interesting version of the traditional design of the Penglai paradise, according to
Taoist belief a group of islands in the Southern Sea, the island of the immortals.
The motifs are painted in different shades of cobalt blue, outlined by darker areas, filled with contrasting
washes in lighter blue, creating a dramatic effect.
In the center the attention is drawn to two human figures in the foreground, a traveler with a stick and his
servant, pointing to the three stylized islands with bizarre rocks, composed of undulating fields. The landscape,
high mountains, pagodas, is encircled by six medallions, each filled with a coiled dragon. The ground has
swastika-enclosing diapers, interspersed by small frames filled with lotus flowers. A continuous band of aquatic
flora and artemisia leaf is below the edge. The outside has a vigorous lotus scroll.
Ref.: Stroeber 2011
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