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Lot Essay
The flying elephant above turbulent sea motif is also found on a number of excavated wares and examples that have been included in the Chang Foundation exhibition, Xuande Imperial Porcelain Excavated at Jingdezhen, Taipei, 1998, such as a blue and white cricket jar (no. 58-1), and on the medallion of a blue and white dish (no. 76). Although many of the sea creatures have their origins in ancient texts such as the Shanhai Jing, their popular appearance as decorative motifs may also have been influenced by adventure stories from the seven maritime expeditions undertaken between 1406-33 by the famous eunuch-admiral, Zheng He.
Compare an almost identical stemcup in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, included in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, 1998, no. 78; and another in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, the World's Great Collections, Kodansha Series, vol. 6, 1982, fig. 96.
Compare an almost identical stemcup in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, included in the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, 1998, no. 78; and another in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, the World's Great Collections, Kodansha Series, vol. 6, 1982, fig. 96.