MING DYNASTY, 14TH-15TH CENTURY

The present dish is exceptional for its large size, sophisticated potting and rich, even-colored glaze, and represents some of the most highly-skilled celadon wares produced by craftsmen at the Longquan kilns during the early Ming period. Records from this time suggest that the kilns were under imperial supervision, and it appears that standards of production were exceptionally high in order to meet imperial demand.

An early fifteenth-century dish of similar size to the present dish is illustrated by R. Krahl and J. Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum Istanbul, Vol. 1, Yuan and Ming Dynasty Celadon Wares, London, 1986, p. 304, no. 245, and another dish of similar size is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, no. 591. A similar but larger charger, from the collection of Roger Belanich, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 3006, and another larger example from the Meiyintang Collection is illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1609, and p. 3, fig. 2b, and was subsequently sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 October 2011, lot 7.