Page 80 - 2020 October 8 HK Fine Classical Paintings

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A FINE AND RARE LARGE DOUCAI ‘DRAGON’ 清雍正 鬪彩雲龍戲珠紋盤

DISH 《大清雍正年製》款
MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGZHENG
vibrantly painted on the interior with a green five-clawed 來源：
dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl amongst flames and Herbert Carmichael（1914-1986年）收藏，編號1800，後
multi-coloured clouds, the reverse decorated with further 於家族傳承
cloud scrolls, the base inscribed with an underglaze-blue six-
character reign mark
20.1 cm, 7⅞ in.

PROVENANCE
Collection of Herbert Carmichael (1914-1986), inventory no.
1800, and thence by descent in the family.

HK$ 1,000,000-1,500,000
US$ 130,000-194,000

It is exceptional to find a Yongzheng doucai dish decorated
with this striking dragon design of this large size, and no other
example appears to be recorded. A smaller example was
however sold in these rooms, 8th October 2019, lot 3602.
Compare also another smaller example in the Hong Kong
Museum of Art, included in the exhibition The Wonders of the
Potter’s Palette, Hong Kong, 1984, cat. no. 45.
This piece belongs to a distinct group of doucai dishes painted
with ferocious side-facing dragons at the centre and with
colourful wispy clouds on the well. Known as wuse yun (Five-
coloured clouds), they were considered potent auspicious
omens, and multiple sightings of them are recorded in palace
documents (Lin Lina, ‘Yongzheng chao zhu xiangrui fuying
[Auspicious signs of the Yongzheng period]’, Harmony and
Integrity: The Yongzheng Emperor and His Times, National
Palace Museum, Taipei, 2009, pp. 391-393). Auspicious
motifs flourished in the Yongzheng period, probably due to the
somewhat unusual circumstances that led the Emperor to the
throne, which raised persistent questions over his right to rule
and thus made him particularly receptive of these designs.
The bowl is from the collection of the Carmichael family,
East Yorkshire, who owned the famous department store,
Carmichael’s, often referred to as the “Harrods of the North”.
There were four Carmichael brothers who owned the business,
and this dish has come from direct descent through the nephew
of one of the four brothers, Herbert Carmichael (1914-1986)
who gifted pieces to the Worcester Museum. Herbert retired
in the 1960s when the family sold the business and moved to
Scarborough. His collection was left to his daughter and then
to his nephew who was the last inheritor. The nephew had the
original inventory list when the family lived at Hotham Hall, and
this dish still preserves the reference no. 1800.

Mark

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