A DOUCAI 'MAGPIE AND PRUNUS' DISH

KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)

Details

A DOUCAI 'MAGPIE AND PRUNUS' DISH
KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)
The dish is elegantly decorated to the interior with a central medallion enclosing two long-tailed magpies, one bird in flight above another perched upon a branch of flowering prunus, all highlighted in green and iron-red enamels. The exterior is decorated with a continuous frieze of blossoming prunus, bamboo, and peony.
6 ¼ in. (15.8 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8 October 2008, lot 2630 (one of a pair).
Christie's Hong Kong, 26 September 1989, lot 726 (one of a pair).

Brought to you by

Samantha Yuen

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Lot Essay

The combination of magpies and prunus depicts the rebus for 'happiness up to the tips of your eyebrows'. A dish of this pattern is illustrated in Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong: Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 116, no. 99. Compare also a single dish sold at Christie's London, 8 November 2011, lot 443, and pair of dishes sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2006, lot 346.

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