ZHENGDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1506-1521)

The catalogue for the exhibition of ceramics from the Idemitsu Museum, In Pursuit of the Dragon: Traditions and Transitions in Ming Ceramics, Seattle Art Museum, 1988, p. 98, includes a discussion by Mary Ann Rogers of dishes with this distinctive decoration made beginning in the Xuande period and continuing through the 15th and 16th centuries. The Idemitsu has in its collection examples from each of the five reign eras during which the type was produced, and apart from minor differences in the treatment of the flowers and choice of fruit, the group is largely consistent.
Other examples with Zhengde marks are in the collection of the Percival David Foundation, M. Medley, Illustrated Catalogue of Ming Polychrome Wares, London, 1978, pl. III, no. 29 and in the Smithsonian Institution, Ming Porcelains in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953, p. 35, nos. 31 and 32.