Lot 915
915
A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘CROSSING THE MAGPIE BRIDGE’ BOWL
A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘CROSSING THE MAGPIE BRIDGE’ BOWL
A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘CROSSING THE MAGPIE BRIDGE’ BOWL
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A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘CROSSING THE MAGPIE BRIDGE’ BOWL
4 More
Property from the Dawentang Collection
A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘CROSSING THE MAGPIE BRIDGE’ BOWL

KANGXI-YONGZHENG PERIOD (1662-1735)

Details
A RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL BLUE AND WHITE ‘CROSSING THE MAGPIE BRIDGE’ BOWL
KANGXI-YONGZHENG PERIOD (1662-1735)
The base with an apocryphal Chenghua six-character mark in underglaze blue.
6 ¼ in. (16 cm.) diam.
Provenance
Collection of Dr. & Mrs. Rudorff
S. Marchant & Son, London
Literature
Chinese Ceramics from the Dawentang Collection, Vol. II, Hong Kong, 2019, pp.330-335, no. 46
Regina Krahl, Arts of Asia, Hong Kong, July – August 2020, p.126, fig. 4
Peter Y.K. Lam, Imperial Kangxi Porcelain from the Dawentang Collection, Arts of Asia, Spring 2021, p.41, fig. 18
Exhibited
S. Marchant & Son, Exhibition of Chinese Blue and White- Wan Li to K’ang Hsi, London, 1980, cat. no. 75
S. Marchant & Son, Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics Tang to Qing, London, 2014, cat. no. 30

Lot Essay

The current bowl delicately depicts a dreamy imagery of magpies, constellations and the moon, implicitly referring to the mythical tale of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl crossing the Magpie Bridge during the Qixi Festival.

Such motifs were often seen on porcelains from the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, and became a beloved theme favoured by the Qing emperors. According to Qing court archive, on the 9th day of 12th month of the Qianlong 8th year (1743), Emperor Qianlong mandated the exclusive use of the ‘Crossing the Magpie Bridge’ motif on blue and white porcelain wares made for use during the Qixi Festival.

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