XUANDE SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1426-1435)

The porcelains of the Xuande period have long been admired by Chinese connoisseurs, to the extent that three hundred years later, when the Qianlong Emperor wished to compliment contemporary porcelains, he compared them to the porcelains of the Xuande and Chenghua (1465-87) reigns. In particular, Xuande-period blue and white porcelains are considered masterpieces of the potters' art. The underglaze blue designs of the period are admired both for the brilliant color of the cobalt blue and for the vitality of the painting, which exhibits great spontaneity and fluidity, as evidenced by the elegant flower scrolls on the present dish.

The present dish is decorated on the interior with a composite floral scroll design, with six flower heads borne on leafy curling stems encircling a central flower, all enclosed within a double-line border. The reverse is painted with a continuous meander comprising lotus, hibiscus, and peony. For a similarly decorated dish in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, see Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Selected Hsüan-te Imperial Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, pp. 426-27, no. 186.