Page 343 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

Using an identical form as the previously
illustrated bowl, the lobed panels carry different
decorative motifs, in this instance set against a
finer planished ground.
The panels alternate between chrysanthemum,
orchid, iris, peony, bamboo and prunus with a
perching bluebird

This particular bowl was sold at auction in 2012
in the UK for $11,850 [$19,200].

Although Huang Qui Ji had an obvious penchant for the chrysanthemum, prunus also feature is quite often. The
prunus actually was quite an obscure blossom until the Sung Dynasty when so many poets wrote odes to it that
it turned the tide of popularity of the blossom in China forever. One Chinese scholar even threw up his hands
once in despair at the amount of bad poetry and prunus cliches the blossom had inspired. It is still probably the
most used decorative motif in China today.

Images courtesy of Infinity Auctions, Beijing; Sotheby’s, New York; Halls Auctioneers, Shrewsbury, UK; Bonhams,
Edinburgh, UK; Michaan’s Auctions, Alameda, USA; John Nicholson’s Fine Art Auctioneers, Haslemere, UK

http://chinese-export-silver.com Image Library Archive