A BLUE AND WHITE CIRCULAR FOOD TRAY AND COVER

Details

A BLUE AND WHITE CIRCULAR FOOD TRAY AND COVER
WANLI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD

The domed cover decorated with a band of dragons striding above waves and rocks in pursuit of flaming pearls below flowering and fruiting sprigs in a circle surrounding the bud finial, a similar dragon band encircling the exterior of the box, the interior divided into six deep compartments radiating outward from a central circular compartment with barbed rim, each compartment decorated with a dragon chasing a flaming pearl amidst clouds and below clouds and flames on the walls, with borders of classic scroll encircling the cover and foot rims
10 7/16in. (26.8cm.) diam.

Lot Essay

A slightly smaller, but closely related food dish in collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts was included in the exhibition, Beauty and the Selfless Mind and is illustrated in the 15th Anniversary Catalogue, Tokyo, 1981, p. 203, no. 858. It was also included in the exhibition, In Pursuit of the Dragon: Traditions and Transitions in Ming Ceramics, Seattle Art Museum, 1988, Catalogue, p. 130, no. 63