JIN DYNASTY, 13TH CENTURY

Designs of single orientation became popular on molded Ding ware dishes in the 13th century, particularly on those depicting plants growing from clearly indicated ground. Those showing specifically identifiable garden scenes are much rarer. One such rare Ding dish with flattened rim in the Percival David Foundation does depict a garden scene with two small boys playing with geese at the waters' edge and behind them a section of elaborate balustrade with rocks, flowers and shrubs. This is illustrated by M. Medley in Yüan Porcelain & Stoneware, London, 1974, pl. 90A. An identical dish to that in the David Foundation is in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan and is illustrated in China at the Inception of the Second Millennium - Art and Culture of the Sung Dynasty, National Palace Museum, 2000, p. 239, no. IV-57. Neither of these two dishes shows any indication of recession and the single section of balustrade on each is set horizontally across the scene. The Falk dish is even more rare, since it not only depicts a complete garden fence stretching right across the central decorative area, but also tries to give an impression of recession within the scene by setting sections of the fence at an oblique angle. The Falk dish is therefore an important example of the 13th century ceramic artist's attempt at the depiction of spatial recession in landscape.