A FINE BLUE AND YELLOW 'GARDENIA' DISH MARK AND PERIOD OF HONGZHI

THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS ARE REQUESTED TO COMPLETE THE PREMIUM LOT PRE-REGISTRATION 3 WORKING DAYS PRIOR TO THE SALE. BIDnow ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE.



 



the curved sides flaring towards the rim, the centre painted in cobalt blue with a gardenia spray with two large open blooms and two buds, the inner sides with a lotus flower and pod tied with a ribbon, branches of pomegranate and crab apple, and a bunch of grapes, the outside with a scroll with seven evenly spaced roses, all reserved on a ground of yellow glaze, which leaves the base free, where the six-character reign mark is inscribed

Collection of Dr and Mrs Sherman E. Lee, Cleveland.
Reach Family Collection.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.
Private Collection, Japan.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland (on loan 1980-86).
Chinese Art from the Reach Family Collection, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 1989, cat. no. 38 (illustrated).
Chūgoku no tōji/Special Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1994, cat. no. 270 (illustrated).

Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1674.

The overall condition is very good with only some light scratches to the glaze and a small area of light brown discolouration beneath the glaze on the interior near the rim. There is an 8 mm section of glaze loss on the interior near the pomegranates. On the exterior there is a few tiny glaze pulls showing the orange fired body.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This gardenia design in blue against a yellow ground was produced from the Xuande right through to the Jiajing reign, with the peak of production probably in the Hongzhi period. For Xuande and Chenghua prototypes in the British Museum, London, see Jessica Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, nos 4: 43 and 6: 16. A Zhengde and an extremely rare Jiajing example also form part of the Meiyintang collection, as does a blue and white dish of this design of Hongzhi mark and period, and an iron-brown painted one of Zhengde mark and period; see Krahl, op.cit., vol. 2, nos 681-4. For other blue and yellow Hongzhi dishes see, for example, one in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Blue and White Porcelain with Underglazed Red, Shanghai, 2000, vol. 2, pl. 231; one from the Carl Kempe collection illustrated in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, Tokyo, New York, San Francisco, 1980-82, vol. 8, no. 226; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, ibid., vol. 11, col. pl. 16; and one from the Sir Percival David Collection in the British Museum, London, in Margaret Medley, The Chinese Potter, Oxford, 1976, fig. 158.