Page 51 - March 23, 2022 Sotheby's NYC Fine Chinese Works of Art

AN ICONIC EMBLEM OF IMPERIAL
POWER.

A 'DRAGON' BOWL FOR THE XUANDE

EMPEROR

Powerful yet elegant, bold yet refined, this present bowl Emperor and his court, suggesting that it may be associated
exemplifies the celebrated aesthetics of blue and white with Buddhist alms bowls. It has also been speculated that
porcelain produced during the Xuande period (1425-35). these bowls were used as brush washers, as fruit bowls or for
Following the Yongle Emperor’s (r. 1402-1424) initiation of the popular game of cricket fights.
unprecedented control of the kilns in Jingdezhen, the short Compare a few closely related examples of Xuande mark
but prosperous reign of the Xuande Emperor saw further and period ‘dice’ bowls in notable museum collections; one
refinement and innovation, elevating the level of blue and housed in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in ibid.,
white porcelain production to new heights. pl. 124; another in the National Palace Museum, Taipei,
A devoted patron of the arts and an artist himself, the Xuande included in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te
Emperor took great interest in the production of porcelain Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, National Palace
at the imperial kilns of Jiangxi. Under the close scrutiny of Museum,Taipei, 1998, cat. no. 37. See also one in the Victoria
court officials and eunuchs who were sent to Jingdezhen to and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics.
supervise production, the kilns were able to vastly increase The World’s Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 148,
their capacity while improving the standard of workmanship. and lastly, one in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.,
Indeed, the staggering number of shards unearthed from published in ibid., vol. 10, pl. 104.
the Xuande stratum at the Imperial kiln site in Zhushan, A few closely related examples have also appeared in auction.
Jingdezhen, and the large collection of extant Xuande wares See one, previously in the Wu Lai-Hsi Collection, sold in our
in the Qing Court Collection, now housed in Beijing and London rooms, 26th May 1937, lot 52 and then again in the
Taipei, suggest a dramatic increase in production and stricter same rooms, 8th May 1951, lot 69, from the collection of C. M.
level of quality control. Woodbridge; one from the collection of Major Lindsay F. Hay,
Representative of the many remarkable technical and artistic sold in our London rooms, 16th June 1939, lot 84, and again
advances made during this period, the bowl is masterfully from the collection of Lionel Edwards, 8th February 1945,
drawn – the powerful dragons emerge from the waves in lot 84 and for a third time, listed as from the estate of Major
an extraordinary range of rich blue tones derived from the Lindsay F. Hay, 25th June 1946, lot 60. A bowl of this form,
imported sumali cobalt. Imported from the Middle East included in the exhibition of Ming Blue and White, Museum
with steady supply during the Yongle and Xuande period, of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, 1964, cat. no. 31 and
the cobalt produced a deep blue pigment, allowing for the on loan to the museum between 1964 and 1974, was sold in
famous ‘heaping and piling’ effect, celebrated and extensively our London rooms, 6th April 1976, lot 116. Compare another
imitated on later blue and white porcelains. A further revision sold in our London rooms, 26th June 1973, lot 236, now in
of the pigment formula in the Xuande reign enabled a the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo and illustrated in Tōru
greater precision of the brush work and a more consistent Nakano, The Panoramic Views of Chinese Patterns, Tokyo,
application of the cobalt, evident in the finer details on 1985, pl. 13.; one sold in our London rooms, 13th December
the bowl – the scales, claws and waves are executed with 1977, lot 472, and then again in our Hong Kong rooms, 10th
masterful precision, cleverly juxtaposed with the dynamic April 2006, lot 1659; one sold in our London rooms, 11th
poses and expressions of the two robust mythical beasts. The May 1965, lot 27 and later again at Christie’s New York, 9th
bowl’s translucent, lustrous glaze and finely potted body also November 1981, lot 118 and another exhibited in Los Angeles
reflect the other ongoing advances in porcelain production County Museum, Los Angeles, from 1977 to 1983, sold in
during this time. This included the refinement of the glaze these rooms, 7th December 1983, lot 292. See also one sold
and kaolin clay, as well as the establishment of a repertoire at Christie’s Hong Kong, 20th March 1990, lot 519; another
of pre-designed forms and patterns, all working in union sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29th October 1991, lot 30; one
to create a sense of harmony and elegance that epitomize sold in these rooms, 19th March 1997, lot 230; and another
Xuande blue and white porcelains. sold at Christie’s London, 18th June 2002, lot 187.
On account of the bowl’s solid potting and some unusual This present bowl comes from the collection of Leon (d. 1961)
wear found on the interior of a few bowls of this type, these and Max (d. 1942) Friedman, aviation pioneers who later
wares have traditionally been referred to as ‘dice’ bowls; established an automobile empire in China in the early 20th
assuming that the dense walls were made to endure the century. The two brothers emigrated from Romania to the
inevitable wear and tear of flying dice. However, in The United States in their early teens and soon found themselves
Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Blue in the business of promoting and organizing aviation shows.
and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red (I), Shanghai, Initially, they started by working with the Wright brothers,
2000, p. 132, the author discusses this particular form, bo, Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871–1948), along the east
and relates it to the devout Buddhist practice of the Xuande coast, but soon expanded their company, Motordrome

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