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Lot Essay
The hoopoe, daisheng, is recognised by its crown of feathers, and it is named in English for its distinctive call. Peaches are a well-known symbol for long life, and hence it can be posited that this dish may have been produced to commemorate a birthday.
The source of the imagery and composition of the current lot was inspired by the ‘bird and flower’ chargers popular in the Yongle period, which in turn was inspired by the court paintings of the 10th century. The Yongle dishes feature either a single or a pair of birds perched on a fruiting branch which often extends beyond the central panel. For example, a charger with a pair of crested birds perched on a flowering plant is illustrated in The Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Masterpiece of Ming and Qing Ceramics, Osaka, 2011, p. 19, pl. 15, and a further charger with two birds on a tea plant is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, no. 595.
A large dish with two longtailed birds perched on pomegranate tree and a blue and white cup with two birds and a peach tree, both dated to the Jiajing period, are illustrated in Yishujia gongjushu bianweihui (Artist’s Reference Book Editorial Board), Mingdai taoci daquan, Hong Kong, 1983, p. 319 and p. 329 respectively. The legacy of this aesthetic can be seen in Yongzheng-period moonflasks crafted after Yongle originals, one of which is housed in the Percival David Collection, now on long-term loan to the British Museum, London, no. A 612.
The distinctive dragons on the reverse of the dish with their elongated almost foliate bodies amongst lotus scrolls are adapted from those on Chenghua porcelain. A stem cup with winged kui-dragon spewing lotus scrolls is illustrated in Yishujia gongjushu bianweihui (Artist’s Reference Book Editorial Board), Mingdai taoci daquan, Hong Kong, 1983, p.187. A blue and white ‘dragon and lotus’ bowl is illustrated in Jessica Harrison- Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 221, pl. 9:11.
The source of the imagery and composition of the current lot was inspired by the ‘bird and flower’ chargers popular in the Yongle period, which in turn was inspired by the court paintings of the 10th century. The Yongle dishes feature either a single or a pair of birds perched on a fruiting branch which often extends beyond the central panel. For example, a charger with a pair of crested birds perched on a flowering plant is illustrated in The Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Masterpiece of Ming and Qing Ceramics, Osaka, 2011, p. 19, pl. 15, and a further charger with two birds on a tea plant is illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, London, 1986, vol. II, no. 595.
A large dish with two longtailed birds perched on pomegranate tree and a blue and white cup with two birds and a peach tree, both dated to the Jiajing period, are illustrated in Yishujia gongjushu bianweihui (Artist’s Reference Book Editorial Board), Mingdai taoci daquan, Hong Kong, 1983, p. 319 and p. 329 respectively. The legacy of this aesthetic can be seen in Yongzheng-period moonflasks crafted after Yongle originals, one of which is housed in the Percival David Collection, now on long-term loan to the British Museum, London, no. A 612.
The distinctive dragons on the reverse of the dish with their elongated almost foliate bodies amongst lotus scrolls are adapted from those on Chenghua porcelain. A stem cup with winged kui-dragon spewing lotus scrolls is illustrated in Yishujia gongjushu bianweihui (Artist’s Reference Book Editorial Board), Mingdai taoci daquan, Hong Kong, 1983, p.187. A blue and white ‘dragon and lotus’ bowl is illustrated in Jessica Harrison- Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 221, pl. 9:11.