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Lot Essay
The finely potted compressed globular body is decorated with a continuous scene of flowering camellia growing from rocks, accompanied by blossoming prunus and bamboo, all between rows of lappets at the shoulder and the foot. The spout and neck are encircled by further decorative bands.
Although underglaze-red decoration was known in the Yuan and early Ming dynasties, its production never matched the scale of blue-and-white porcelain in subsequent centuries. This was largely due to technical difficulties with copper being volatile during firing, often producing unpredictable results ranging from rich red to brownish grey, and is prone to dissipation. Consequently, many of the finest examples of underglaze-red porcelain dating to the early Ming, particularly the Hongwu period. One of the most distinctive forms among Hongwu underglaze-red porcelains is the present kendi type with compressed globular body. The remarkably even, dusty pink tone achieved on the present lot is extremely rare and technically challenging.
A Hongwu copper-red kendi decorated with peony is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection no.: gu00145497 (fig. 1). Further examples are in the Musée Guimet, Paris, Oriental Ceramics, the World's Great Collections, vol. 7, pl. 16; the Danish Museum of Decorative Arts, Copenhagen, illustrated by D. Lion-Goldschmidt in Ming Porcelain, no. 23; and two in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, pl. 42, and pl. 140. Compare also to a kendi that is decorated with the same composition, formerly in the Arthur M. Sackler collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1566 (fig. 2).
Although underglaze-red decoration was known in the Yuan and early Ming dynasties, its production never matched the scale of blue-and-white porcelain in subsequent centuries. This was largely due to technical difficulties with copper being volatile during firing, often producing unpredictable results ranging from rich red to brownish grey, and is prone to dissipation. Consequently, many of the finest examples of underglaze-red porcelain dating to the early Ming, particularly the Hongwu period. One of the most distinctive forms among Hongwu underglaze-red porcelains is the present kendi type with compressed globular body. The remarkably even, dusty pink tone achieved on the present lot is extremely rare and technically challenging.
A Hongwu copper-red kendi decorated with peony is in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection no.: gu00145497 (fig. 1). Further examples are in the Musée Guimet, Paris, Oriental Ceramics, the World's Great Collections, vol. 7, pl. 16; the Danish Museum of Decorative Arts, Copenhagen, illustrated by D. Lion-Goldschmidt in Ming Porcelain, no. 23; and two in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by Ayers, Far Eastern Ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1980, pl. 42, and pl. 140. Compare also to a kendi that is decorated with the same composition, formerly in the Arthur M. Sackler collection, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27 May 2008, lot 1566 (fig. 2).