WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN A LINE WITHIN A DOUBLE RECTANGLE AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

A Rare Wucai 'Dragon' Brushrest
Wanli six-character mark in a line within a double rectangle and of the period
Molded and pierced as three dragons rising above waves and rocks and raised on a 'stand' with bracket-shaped apron, all decorated in underglaze blue, and green, black and iron-red
55/8in. (14.2cm.) wide, box

Provenance

J. Love Collection
Utterson
Frederick M. Mayer, Christie's, London, 24/25 June 1974, lot 105.

Literature

R. L. Hobson, The Wares of the Ming Dynasty, Vermont, 1962, pl. 37, Fig. 1.

Exhibited

London, Christie's, Exhibition of Important Chinese Ceramics from the Robert Chang Collection, 2 - 14 June 1993, no. 28.

Lot Essay

Wucai-enamelled brushrests were made in two designs, with either three or five peaks; the three-peaked variety was perhaps the most fortuitous as the shape is fundamentally that of the Chinese character meaning 'mountain'. Such brushrests have been widely illustrated, as they are one of the most unusal kinds of enamelled wares made for the scholar's table during the late Ming period. A similar example is in the Idemitsu Museum, illustrated in The 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Tokyo, 1981, p. 203, no. 857; another is illustrated by I.L. Legeza, Malcolm MacDonald Collection of Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972, pl. CVX, no. 308.

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