Lot Essay
There are two distinct groups of dish which are decorated with a very similar design of an incised flying goose surrounded by clouds, lotus leaves, and lingzhi sprigs. However, one group is left unglazed beyond the incised decoration. And within the two groups, some have small details in blue glaze, as in the present example, and some do not. Examples can be found with rounded and flattened rims.
Margaret Medley illustrates an example with a similar design in Tang Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1981, p. 31 and a larger dish from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, with a flat rim and dappled background, ibid., p. 32. On p. 41, she notes that "it is almost certainly silver with traced decoration that is the source for the impressed designs on the offering-trays, dishes and wrist rests." See also, Pottery and Metalwork in T'ang China, Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia No. I, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 1975, "Iranian Silver and Its Influence in T'ang China" by Souren Melikian, pp. 12-19, where the author persuasively argues the Tang debt to Sogdian silver rather than Sasanian silver which had hitherto gained universal acceptance.
Similar examples are illustrated by William Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, Fribourg, 1984, p. 141, col. pl. 120 and front cover of the dust jacket, from Der Danske Kunstindustrimuseum, Copenhagen, with another on p. 140, fig. 119, from the City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, also included in the exhibition, The Arts of the T'ang, Los Angeles County Museum, 1957, Catalogue, no. 204; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by Suzanne Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p. 65, pl. 57; in the exhibition, Da Sancai (Three-Colour Ware) at the Luoyang Museum and the Liaoning Provincial Museum, 1989, Catalogue, p. 59, no. 46; by Seiichi Mizuno, Tousansai (Tang Sancai), Heibonsha, Japan, 1977, vol. 35, fig. 34 and no. 55; and in Sekai toji zenshu, Kawade Shobo, Japan, 1961, vol. 9, fig. 81; in Selected Masterpieces of Oriental Ceramics, The Matsuoka Museum of Art, 1988, Catalogue, pl. 12; by James Spencer, Selected Masterpieces from Han to Qing, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1990, Catalogue, p. 63, col. pl. 12; by Martin Feddersen, Chinesisches Kunstgewebe, Berlin, 1939, p. 41, fig. 17, from the MAA, Berlin; in the exhibition, Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954, Catalogue, no. 326, from the Dr. Gustaf Lindberg Collection; in Beauty and the Selfless Mind, 25th Anniversary Exhibition, at the Idemitsu, Tokyo, 1981, Catalogue, no. 613.
For examples of the second group with unglazed well and rim, see St. Louis Art Museum, Catalogue, p. 169, fig. 181; the Charles B. Hoyt Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Memorial Exhibition, 1952, Catalogue, vol. I, no. 92; and Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 20a.
An example sold in Christie's, Hong Kong, May 2, 1994, lot 601.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C298a33 is consistent with the dating of this lot.
Margaret Medley illustrates an example with a similar design in Tang Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1981, p. 31 and a larger dish from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, with a flat rim and dappled background, ibid., p. 32. On p. 41, she notes that "it is almost certainly silver with traced decoration that is the source for the impressed designs on the offering-trays, dishes and wrist rests." See also, Pottery and Metalwork in T'ang China, Colloquies on Art and Archaeology in Asia No. I, Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 1975, "Iranian Silver and Its Influence in T'ang China" by Souren Melikian, pp. 12-19, where the author persuasively argues the Tang debt to Sogdian silver rather than Sasanian silver which had hitherto gained universal acceptance.
Similar examples are illustrated by William Watson, Tang and Liao Ceramics, Fribourg, 1984, p. 141, col. pl. 120 and front cover of the dust jacket, from Der Danske Kunstindustrimuseum, Copenhagen, with another on p. 140, fig. 119, from the City of Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, also included in the exhibition, The Arts of the T'ang, Los Angeles County Museum, 1957, Catalogue, no. 204; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by Suzanne Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p. 65, pl. 57; in the exhibition, Da Sancai (Three-Colour Ware) at the Luoyang Museum and the Liaoning Provincial Museum, 1989, Catalogue, p. 59, no. 46; by Seiichi Mizuno, Tousansai (Tang Sancai), Heibonsha, Japan, 1977, vol. 35, fig. 34 and no. 55; and in Sekai toji zenshu, Kawade Shobo, Japan, 1961, vol. 9, fig. 81; in Selected Masterpieces of Oriental Ceramics, The Matsuoka Museum of Art, 1988, Catalogue, pl. 12; by James Spencer, Selected Masterpieces from Han to Qing, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1990, Catalogue, p. 63, col. pl. 12; by Martin Feddersen, Chinesisches Kunstgewebe, Berlin, 1939, p. 41, fig. 17, from the MAA, Berlin; in the exhibition, Arte Cinese, Venice, 1954, Catalogue, no. 326, from the Dr. Gustaf Lindberg Collection; in Beauty and the Selfless Mind, 25th Anniversary Exhibition, at the Idemitsu, Tokyo, 1981, Catalogue, no. 613.
For examples of the second group with unglazed well and rim, see St. Louis Art Museum, Catalogue, p. 169, fig. 181; the Charles B. Hoyt Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Memorial Exhibition, 1952, Catalogue, vol. I, no. 92; and Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 20a.
An example sold in Christie's, Hong Kong, May 2, 1994, lot 601.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C298a33 is consistent with the dating of this lot.