YONGZHENG SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE WITHIN A DOUBLE CIRCLE AND OF THE PERIOD (1723-1735)

This finely painted dish depicts the early Tang dynasty general Li Jing (AD 571-649). Li Jing was the father of Nazha, a famous Chinese mythical figure, present in both Buddhism and Daoism, a protector of children, and depicted in the Ming dynasty novel, Fenshen Yanyi. The central image on this dish shows Li Jing preparing to slay a jiaolong, a mythical aquatic dragon, as it emerges from waves. According to Chinese myth, the slaying of this dragon is thought to prevent a flood. The story symbolizes martial valor and steadfast loyalty in safeguarding the peace and well-being of the people, with Li Jing venerated as a guardian deity. The cavetto of the dish is further decorated with dragons in anhua, or secret decoration.

This dish belongs to a rare group of dishes painted in similar style depicting historical scenes with a maker’s mark, Bian Shi. The painterly style and soft shading and linear details of the ground and rocks evokes early Kangxi-period painting, suggesting that these dishes were made early in the Yongzheng period.

A Yongzheng-marked dish from this group decorated with a man and a boy, also decorated with anhua dragons, is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, acc. number c.760-1909. Another example, but depicting the famous story Li Guang shooting the stone, is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, and is illustrated in Imperial Porcelains from the Reign of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty II: A Comparison of Porcelains from the Imperial Kiln Site at Jingdezhen and Imperial Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2016, pp. 664-5, no. 296.