Lot Essay
Fish appeared as decoration on Chinese ceramics as early as the Neolithic period, and have remained a popular theme in Chinese ceramics in both shape and decoration. In fact, paintings of fish were esteemed at the Chinese court as early as the Northern Song period (960-1279), where members of the Song imperial clan were known to paint fish in their spare time. Much of its popularity as a decorative motif, especially in later dynasties, hinges on the fact that the word for fish (yu) is a homophone for the word for abundance, and the word for carp (li) a homophone for the word for profit.
Important large basins like the present ones were extremely difficult to fire and many were lost during firing. In China they were used as fishbowls, the fish painted in the inside adding to the effect. In the 18th Europe they usually connected with palace collection, as only the very wealthy could afford them; less was known about their function so that they were very often used used on their own as magnificent pieces embellishing an interior or, for more functional purposes, as jardinières. See C. Jörg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1998, p. 223.
Compare a pair of Qianlong fish bowls from The Doris Duke Collection Sold to benfit The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Christie's, New York, 2-5 June 2004, lot 457 ($119,500).
Important large basins like the present ones were extremely difficult to fire and many were lost during firing. In China they were used as fishbowls, the fish painted in the inside adding to the effect. In the 18th Europe they usually connected with palace collection, as only the very wealthy could afford them; less was known about their function so that they were very often used used on their own as magnificent pieces embellishing an interior or, for more functional purposes, as jardinières. See C. Jörg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1998, p. 223.
Compare a pair of Qianlong fish bowls from The Doris Duke Collection Sold to benfit The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Christie's, New York, 2-5 June 2004, lot 457 ($119,500).