A BLUE AND WHITE CINQUEFOIL BASIN

WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD

Details

A BLUE AND WHITE CINQUEFOIL BASIN
Wanli Six-Character Mark in Underglaze Blue Within a Double Circle and of the Period
Thickly potted and painted in inky tones of underglaze blue in the interior with a five-clawed dragon leaping in pursuit of a flaming pearl amidst foliate meander bearing five blossoms of different type in pursuit of a flaming pearl, the same motif repeated in each of the eight lobes of the deep, rounded sides and again on the lobed, everted rim, the exterior encircled by a band of foliate scroll bearing two blossoms on each lobe beneath two of the bajixiang or two flowers, all beneath a band of lingzhi fungus scroll on the underside of the rim, the nianhao within a recessed medallion in the center of the unglazed base
13½in. (34.8cm.) across, box

Lot Essay

A very similar basin, also painted with a single dragon in the center, is illustrated in The 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1981, p. 203, no. 852. Compare, also, the Wanli blue and white hexafoil example of slightly larger dimensions, painted with a pair of dragons amidst clouds and flaming pearls illustrated in Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, The Chang Foundation, Taibei, 1990, no. 104. See, also, the hexafoil wucai basin with confronted dragons, dated to the Longqing period, Zhongguo Taoci Daxi, Mingdai Taoci Daquan (Chinese Ceramics Series, Ming Dynasty Ceramics), Taibei, 1987, p. 446