JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER INCISED MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1522 - 1566)

Details

A RARE AND FINELY CARVED LOBED CINNABAR LACQUER 'WASHING THE ELEPHANT' DISH
JIAJING SIX-CHARACTER INCISED MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1522 - 1566)
The octafoil shaped dish is magnificently carved through thick layers of cinnabar lacquer with an elephant next to a large wooden basin being washed by a servant standing on the animal with a broom, watched by Bodhidarma and two monks beside a servant carrying a water bucket, all on a patterned ground. The rim is enclosed by a band of eight delicately carved flower heads such as peony, chrysanthemums and lotus amongst loosely arranged leaves. The exterior is decorated with scrolling tendrils above the black lacquered base bearing the incised mark.
8 ¾ in. (22.2 cm.) wide

Provenance

With Ben Janssens Oriental Art, London, 1999.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Kate Hunt Director, Head of Department

khunt@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7752 3389

Lot Essay

The decoration on this dish is a scene known as 'Washing the Elephant' (saoxiang, literally ‘sweeping the elephant’), and is associated with the Buddhist idea of Spiritual Purification. An initial link between the white elephant and Buddhism was revealed in connection with the birth of the Buddha. According to legend, his mother, Queen Maya, was childless for many years after her marriage, but one night she had a very vivid dream in which she was transported by four devas (spirits) to Lake Anotatta in the Himalayas. She was then visited by a white elephant holding a white lotus in its trunk, which walked around her three times before entering her womb through her right side. Tradition has it that the Buddha took the form of a white elephant in order to be reborn for the last time on Earth.
Illustrations of this scene were popular on late Ming and early Qing dynasty porcelains and other works of arts. It is, however, very rare to find a cinnabar lacquer dish depicting this scene.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All