Lot Essay
This stem-cup belongs to a group traditionally thought to have been made for domestic non-Imperial use; however, it is now believed that although they do not bear reign marks, they were indeed used in the Imperial courts. See A Legacy of Chenghua for a discussion on Chenghua wares following the excavations at Zhushan, Jingdezhen; the doucai stem-cups from the excavations are almost all of smaller size than the present example, but a comparable early blue and white Chenghua stem-cup, painted around the exterior with the lion and ball decoration, was discovered and is illustrated by Liu Xinyuan, op.cit., no.A8, exhibited at the Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1993.
Cf. the very similar stem-cup in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated in Catalogue, Book III, pl.6, and pls. 6a - 6d. The decoration on the stem-cup in this lot relates very closely amongst published comparables to the bowl in the Ardebil Shrine, which has very similar dragons above ruyi-heads, and which is illustrated by J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, no. 29.343, pl.62 and p.110 where the author comments on the curious style of the dragons on this bowl, 'only the two front legs are drawn, and the rest of the body trails off in a succession of ornate scrolls. At the shoulders are small wings; the proboscidiform snout extends upward, and from the tip of the protruding tongue springs the stem of a lotus with leaves and a blossom'. This description fits perfectly the dragons on the present lot.
Another stem-cup of this date, with similar key-pattern around the foot but with different decoration on the bowl is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of Mr. and Mrs. S. Herzman and illustrated by S. G. Valenstein, Catalogue, no.68, p.73; and another related stem-cup in the Musée Guimet, Paris is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha Series, vol.7, pl.54
A Chenghua stem-cup painted with the 'three friends' was sold in these Rooms, 10 June 1991, lot 121; and another with birds and foliage was sold in these Rooms, 5 June 1995, lot 121
Cf. the very similar stem-cup in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated in Catalogue, Book III, pl.6, and pls. 6a - 6d. The decoration on the stem-cup in this lot relates very closely amongst published comparables to the bowl in the Ardebil Shrine, which has very similar dragons above ruyi-heads, and which is illustrated by J. A. Pope, Chinese Porcelains from the Ardebil Shrine, no. 29.343, pl.62 and p.110 where the author comments on the curious style of the dragons on this bowl, 'only the two front legs are drawn, and the rest of the body trails off in a succession of ornate scrolls. At the shoulders are small wings; the proboscidiform snout extends upward, and from the tip of the protruding tongue springs the stem of a lotus with leaves and a blossom'. This description fits perfectly the dragons on the present lot.
Another stem-cup of this date, with similar key-pattern around the foot but with different decoration on the bowl is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of Mr. and Mrs. S. Herzman and illustrated by S. G. Valenstein, Catalogue, no.68, p.73; and another related stem-cup in the Musée Guimet, Paris is illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, Kodansha Series, vol.7, pl.54
A Chenghua stem-cup painted with the 'three friends' was sold in these Rooms, 10 June 1991, lot 121; and another with birds and foliage was sold in these Rooms, 5 June 1995, lot 121