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Lot Essay
Four other dishes of this rare and auspicious design have been published. One is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Monochrome Porcelain, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 48. Another example in the Percival David Foundation is illustrated by R. Scott, For the Imperial Court - Qing Porcelain from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, New York/Singapore, 1998, pp. 18, 50-51, no. 2. The pair to the David dish, which was previously also in the Percival David Foundation, was in the Meiyintang Collection and sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 April 2011, lot 25, and is also illustrated by R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. II, London, 1994, no. 896. The fourth example, formerly in the Paul Baerwald Collection and the Falk Collection, was sold at Christie's New York, 16 October 2001, lot 152.
The form of the dish is skillfully molded in multi-petalled flower form. The number of long slender petals suggests that the dish may have been intended to represent a chrysanthemum, which is a symbol of longevity, because infusions made from its flowers are said to have health-giving properties. The wish for longevity is made even more explicit in the incised decoration on the dish. In the center of the dish the five-clawed imperial dragon (symbolizing the emperor) is depicted leaping above the waves. Between its two front claws the dragon holds the Chinese character wan (ten thousand). Below the dragon is the character shou (longevity), while to his left and right are the characters tian (heaven) and qi (equal to). Thus the four characters can be read as 'ten thousand years of long life as boundless as heaven'. The dish therefore carried the hope that the emperor would enjoy prosperity and extended long life, and thus would have been appropriate for the celebration of an imperial birthday.
The form of the dish is skillfully molded in multi-petalled flower form. The number of long slender petals suggests that the dish may have been intended to represent a chrysanthemum, which is a symbol of longevity, because infusions made from its flowers are said to have health-giving properties. The wish for longevity is made even more explicit in the incised decoration on the dish. In the center of the dish the five-clawed imperial dragon (symbolizing the emperor) is depicted leaping above the waves. Between its two front claws the dragon holds the Chinese character wan (ten thousand). Below the dragon is the character shou (longevity), while to his left and right are the characters tian (heaven) and qi (equal to). Thus the four characters can be read as 'ten thousand years of long life as boundless as heaven'. The dish therefore carried the hope that the emperor would enjoy prosperity and extended long life, and thus would have been appropriate for the celebration of an imperial birthday.