Page 63 - Christie's Important Chinese Art, March 23 to 24 2023 New York

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE WEST COAST COLLECTION
1061
A RARE LARGE BLUE AND WHITE 'MELON' DISH in the Catalogue of the Hong Kong O.C.S. exhibition of Jingdezhen ware, the
YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE Yuan Evolution, 1984, no. 142. While the decoration on Yongle examples show
WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735) a vine rooted to the ground bearing two melons, Yongzheng examples feature
a design of a scrolling vine usually bearing seven melons, as is seen on the
17q in. (44.4 cm.) diam. present dish.
$120,000-180,000 For Yongzheng examples, compare a dish of almost the same size, illustrated
in Chinese Porcelain, The S.C. Ko Tianminlou Collection, Part 1, Hong Kong,
The prominent themes of archaism and imitation in Chinese art reached 1987, col. pl. 53. Other similar examples include one illustrated by Liu
their pinnacle during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), fueled by the Kangxi Liang-yu in A Survey of Chinese Ceramics, Ching official and Popular Wares,
(1662-1722), Yongzheng (1723-1735) and Qianlong (1736-1795) emperors, all Taipei, 1991, p. 95 (top); another in Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to
of whom were renowned collectors of antiques. The design of this dish is Qing, The Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1990, no. 125; and an example from the
based on fifteenth century Yongle prototypes, which were highly admired in Jingguantang collection sold at Christie’s New York, 26 March 2003, lot 262.
the Qing court. Examples of Yongle 'melon' dishes include an example in the
Ardebil Shrine, illustrated by J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil
美४西岸私́珍藏
Shrine, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., 1956,
pl. 40, no. 29.61, and an example from the collection of Dr. Ip Yee, illustrated 清雍正ǎ青花瓜瓞綿綿紋折沿૯盤ǎ雙१Ս字楷書款

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