MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY

Characterized by their glazes with a network of fine crackles in golden and iron tone, Ge wares represent one of the most revered wares of the Song dynasty. Ge wares were not only appreciated in their own era, but have been treasured and imitated in the following dynasties. The early Ming period marked a height of imitating Ge wares since the imperial patronage was given in such efforts. As a result, early Ming Ge-type wares successfully resembled the so called ‘iron-wire’ and ‘golden thread’. However, the glazes of early Ming Ge-type wares are glossier than their Song prototypes and their fine biscuit body reveals white colour, which is typical of the Jindezhen wares. Compare a Yuan/Ming Ge-type foliate dish sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 3 June 2015, lot 3212 and an early Ming Ge-type barbed-rim dish from the collection of Dr. Hugh Shire, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong 6 October 2015, lot 124. Compare also a Ge-type chrysanthemum dish bearing Xuande six-character mark in underglaze blue, illustrated in National Palace Museum, Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, 1998, pp. 194-195, no. 70.