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Lot Essay
This beautiful doucai cup bears a lingzhi fungus and flower design that originated on doucai porcelains of the Chenghua reign (AD 1465-87) and continued to find favour with imperial patrons of doucai porcelains in succeeding reigns of both the Ming and Qing dynasties.
For examples of the Chenghua version see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 199, no. 181; Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003, pp. 154-5, nos. 145-9; and R. Scott and S. Pierson, Flawless Porcelains: Imperial Ceramics from the Reign of the Chenghua Emperor, Percival David Foundation, London, 1995, p. 40, no. 21, on which the underglaze blue Chenghua mark is obscured by a later-added iron red enamel Wanli mark.
For a Wanli example see Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, op. cit., p. 156, no. 150; and for Yongzheng examples see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, op. cit., p. 257, no. 235, and Flawless Porcelains: Imperial Ceramics from the Reign of the Chenghua Emperor, op. cit., p. 53, no. 44. In addition, the David Foundation also has a doucai cup with this design, which bears a Daoguang mark (AD1821-50), providing a testament to the enduring popularity of this design at the Chinese court.
For examples of the Chenghua version see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 199, no. 181; Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2003, pp. 154-5, nos. 145-9; and R. Scott and S. Pierson, Flawless Porcelains: Imperial Ceramics from the Reign of the Chenghua Emperor, Percival David Foundation, London, 1995, p. 40, no. 21, on which the underglaze blue Chenghua mark is obscured by a later-added iron red enamel Wanli mark.
For a Wanli example see Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Ch'eng-hua Porcelain Ware, op. cit., p. 156, no. 150; and for Yongzheng examples see The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, op. cit., p. 257, no. 235, and Flawless Porcelains: Imperial Ceramics from the Reign of the Chenghua Emperor, op. cit., p. 53, no. 44. In addition, the David Foundation also has a doucai cup with this design, which bears a Daoguang mark (AD1821-50), providing a testament to the enduring popularity of this design at the Chinese court.