MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)

Details

A FAHUA BARREL-FORM GARDEN SEAT
MING DYNASTY (1368-1644)
The sides decorated with a wide band of phoenixes in flight amidst a ground of dense pierced clouds interrupted by a pair of mask handles, between rows of bosses and detached waves below and clouds above, the domed top with a pierced central flower head surrounded by demi-lotus leaves at the rim, all in turquoise, pale yellow, pale aubergine and white on a dark blue ground
14 in. (35.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Estate of Marc Haas; Christie's, New York, 30 May 1991, lot 300.
Christie's, New York, 19 September 1996, lot 258.

Lot Essay

It is unusual to find a fahua garden seat with pierced decoration, although a pair carved and pierced with Buddhistic lions was sold in London, 10 June 1974, lot 115. A similar garden seat in the Percival David Foundation, London, which is more simply decorated around the unpierced sides with Buddhistic lions and cash, dated to the Hongzhi period, is illustrated by R. Scott and R. Kerr, Ceramic Evolution in the Middle Ming Period, Hongzhi to Wanli (1488-1620), Percival David Foundation, London, 1994, p. 25, no. 32, where the authors discuss the characteristics of both northern and southern production of fahua ware during the Yuan and Ming periods, pp. 11 and 12.

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