Page 477 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

of each dish, but here there was no attempt to
organize them into a scene; they march around
the cavetto in strict alternation, at eye level, the
richness of the coloring emphasizing a certain
resemblance to heraldic blazons.
Since mandarin ducks mate for life, since the
Chinese character for lotus (Han) is homophonous
with other characters meaning "to connect" and
"to love/ and since lotuses produce vast numbers
of seeds, lotuses and ducks are frequently com-
bined in Chinese applied arts to symbolize happy
and fruitful marriage. It is not unlikely that these
dishes were made to celebrate a marriage.
Encircling the inside rim is an inscription in
Tibetan characters — further evidence for the
often close connections in early and middle Ming
between China and Tibet. The underglaze cobalt
blue in which the characters were brushed is par-
ticularly vibrant, with a watery texture common
to most Chenghua porcelains.
In the Sakya monastery, Tibet, is a bowl bearing
the same dou cai design and a Xuande reign-mark
(1426-1435), and apparently of the period. This
would suggest that the dou cai technique, as
well as this unusual design, originated as early as
circa 1430. S.E.L.

3^7
DISH

Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505)
Chinese The spectacular decorative scheme on this dish 328
white porcelain with underglaze blue decoration and was originated at the Jingdezhen potteries as early
overglaze yellow enamel as the Xuande reign-era (1426-1435), continued TABLE SCREEN
3
diameter 26.4 (io A) popular during Chenghua (1465-1487), and was
references: Jenyns 1953, 66; Medley 1966, 42 in great demand by the Imperial Household, as Zhengde mark and period (1506-1522)
National Palace Museum, Taipei evidenced by its orders to the potteries, during the Chinese blue decoration
white porcelain with underglaze
Hongzhi reign-era. height 45.8 (18)
On the unfired white body the design was references: Jenyns 1953, 98-105; Medley, 1963,
painted in cobalt blue before being clear-glazed #3687, 64
and fired: inside, in the central roundel a vigor-
ously drawn floral spray, possibly tree peony; courtesy of the Percival David Foundation
Chinese Art, London
of
around the cavetto evenly spaced fruiting sprigs
of lichee, loquat(?), chestnut, and crabapple;
evenly disposed around the outside wall of the A single piece of porcelain forms this entire
dish are four identical floral scrolls, more stylized screen, though its base is designed to resemble the
than those on the inside. Fine double lines encir- wooden mounting of a single-panel painted screen
cle the rim inside and out, the central roundel, (J: tsuitate). In its center is a quotation from the
and the foot, setting off the motifs. The base is Koran in Arabic script, set in a diamond-shaped
glazed and bears the Hongzhi reign-mark in cartouche with a double outline. Enclosing the
underglaze blue. diamond and touching it at its four corners is a
In the Xuande period this type of design was double-outlined circle. A double line also traces
probably rendered only in underglaze blue on the perimeter of the screen, which has cusped
white. But Chenghua and Hongzhi dishes of the corners at the top echoing the cusps on the base.
type were painted with overglaze yellow enamel Cloud scrolls fill the spaces between the diamond
covering all but the blue motifs and the base, then and the circle, and floral scrolls the space between
fired a second time to fuse the enamel. Design circle and perimeter. Save for a double-lined
and color combine to make these blue-and-yellow rectangle containing the six-character Zhengde
wares among the boldest imperial porcelains of reign-mark of the Ming dynasty, the lower edge
the Ming dynasty. S.E.L. of the screen is blank. Both inscriptions and all

476 CIRCA 1492