Lot 153
153
A RARE MING BLUE AND WHITE SAUCER-DISH FOR THE ISLAMIC MARKET painted at the centre of the interior with an ogival panel containing Persian characters, the points of the ogee with double foliate scrolls alternating with single scrolls, all within a double-line band below the well, a narrow band of stylised cruciform motifs at the rim and on the exterior above a broader band containing ten further Persian characters amongst scrolling lotus (small rim chip),

Details
A RARE MING BLUE AND WHITE SAUCER-DISH FOR THE ISLAMIC MARKET painted at the centre of the interior with an ogival panel containing Persian characters, the points of the ogee with double foliate scrolls alternating with single scrolls, all within a double-line band below the well, a narrow band of stylised cruciform motifs at the rim and on the exterior above a broader band containing ten further Persian characters amongst scrolling lotus (small rim chip),

Zhengde six-character mark and of the period
16cm. diam.

Lot Essay

The characters in the interior may be translated as 'Bounty, Wealth, Good Fortune'. The characters on the exterior may be translated as 'Keep your throat pure from every pleasant taste, so that you do not fall into crime and sin'. There are very few moments in Chinese porcelain production when Islamic calligraphy or invocatory inscriptions appear on fine wares, though it is possible to find them on certain groups of cloisonné enamel and bronze censers of both Ming and Qing date. The brief reign of the Zhengde Emperor (1506-23) is the best known, when Moslem tenets (and leaders) played an influential role in the affairs of the Imperial court at Beijing. A very similar example of these fascinating dishes was offered at in our Hong Kong Rooms, 1 May 1995, lot 645

Cf. a near-identical dish with similar inscriptions in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Book IV, pls.12 - 12c

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