A BLUE AND WHITE MOLDED LOTUS DISH

Details

A BLUE AND WHITE MOLDED LOTUS DISH
WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD

The shallow, rounded body molded as two rows of petals radiating to the barbed rim from a central medallion enclosing Tibetan characters encircled by two narrow ruyi-head bands, the exterior of the upper row of petals alternately decorated with flower sprigs and further Tibetan characters forming an inscription above the projecting tips of the band of molded petals below, with a narrow band of penciled leaf tips above the pedestal foot
7 5/8in. (19.4cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

Similar dishes with Wanli marks are illustrated: by John Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. II, Geneva, 1969, Catalogue, no. A185; by Wang Qing-zheng, Underglaze Blue and Red, Hong Kong, 1987, pl. 101; by Jan Wirgin, B.M.F.E.A., no. 46, 1974, pl. 63; and by Suzanne G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, pl. 18l, pl. 177. Another bowl of Wanli date, but unmarked, in the Institut Neerlandais, Paris, is illustrated by Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Ming Porcelain, New York, 1978, pl. 215 and 215a, where the author notes that these bowls were probably intended to hold offerings in Lama Buddhist temples
Compare, also, the dish with additional iron-red decoration sold in these rooms, June 1, 1990, lot 190