Page 134 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art London May 2018

136
A RARE IRON!RED ARABIC!INSCRIBED DISH
ZHENGDE MARK AND PERIOD
the shallow rounded sides supported on a tapered foot,
covered overall in a pale bluish-white glaze, decorated in iron-
red in the centre with an Arabic inscription contained within a
medallion, enclosed by four further phrases, the exterior with
a continuous inscription and further double-line borders, Da
Ming Zhengde nian zhi transcribed phonetically into Arabic
script, in iron-red within two double circles
20.7 cm, 8⅛ in.
This well-potted dish belongs to a small group of porcelain
wares that incorporates both Arabic and Persian inscriptions
in its designs in keeping with the emperor’s religious leanings.
The inscription in the central roundel may transcribed as ‘Allah
provides for whom He wills without account’ within ‘Praise
be to you, exalted and mighty’. The four inscriptions on the
exterior are comprised of the phrase, ‘the Mighty God, the
Most Great told the truth’, written twice in Arabic and twice in
Persian.
A closely related example in the National Palace Museum,
Taipei, is illustrated in Enamelled Ware of the Ming Dynasty. II.
Hong Kong, 1966, pl. 7; another dish in the Shanghai Museum,
Shanghai, is published in The Complete Works of Chinese
Ceramics. Vol 13. Ming. (part 2). Shanghai, 1999, pl. 146; and a
third, from the collection of the British Rail Pension Fund, was
nd
136 sold in these rooms, 2 December 1974, lot 289, again in our
Hong Kong rooms, 16 May 1989, lot 23, and a third time at
th
st
Christie’s New York, 21 March 2002, lot 170.
£ 30,000-50,000
HK$ 332,000-555,000 US$ 42,300-70,500
׼͍ᅃ ᘦߎڛזЬ˖ᆵ
ɽ׼͍ᅃϋႡ‘ࠪจಛ

137

A WUCAI ‘BOYS’ JAR
MING DYNASTY, WANLI PERIOD

the ovoid body surmounted by a tapered neck, painted to
the exterior with eight boys engaged in various pursuits in a
fenced garden with bamboo and blossoming ß owers, all below
a band of stylise ß ower petal, the base with a double-circle in
underglase blue
12.7 cm, 5 in.
PROVENANCE
Christie’s Hong Kong, 20th March 1990, lot 543.

£ 10,000-15,000
HK$ 111,000-166,000 US$ 14,100-21,200

׼ຬ዇ ʞ੹ᏃᏕྡᜦ
Ը๕
࠰ಥԳɻ੻ ϋ ˜ ˚dᇜ໮

137

132 SOTHEBY’S